EU Commission approves deal between ThyssenKrupp and Outokumpu

The European Commission today approved the divestiture and the possibility of divesting the assets of Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) and Outokumpu Service Centers (VDM) to ThyssenKrupp, which was announced on November 30, 2013.

Commission Vice President Joaquin Almunia, responsible for competition policy, said: “Our priority is to ensure the viability of the Terni steel mill despite difficult market conditions and to find a suitable buyer as soon as possible. which will develop Terni as a strong and reliable competitor to Outokumpu and other market players. I believe that in this way we will be able to maintain competition in the European stainless steel market. "

ThyssenKrupp and Terni only overlap in the distribution of stainless steel products in a number of European countries. However, several other major distributors remain active after the deal in all countries where the parties are active, and the barriers to new competitors in these markets are moderate. Previously, ThyssenKrupp was not present in the markets where AST and Outokumpu were active.

The Commission is to determine the procedure for the re-merger of AST, which was originally part of Inoxum ThyssenKrupp's stainless steel production and was conditionally cleared at Outokumpu /Inoxum in November 2012. The Commission concluded that the company had gained a dominant position in the European cold-rolled stainless steel market, with a market share of over 50 percent. ThyssenKrupp has been approved as a suitable buyer for AST on January 13, 2014 and expects to close the deal within the next few weeks.