Jindal Steel International would continue thyssenkrupp Steel’s transformation to low-emission direct reduced iron-based steelmaking if it were to acquire the German steel giant.
The Indian group submitted a non-binding offer for thyssenkrupp Steel Europe on Tuesday.
“We believe in the future of green steel production in Germany and Europe,” Narendra Misra, Jindal’s director of European operations, is quoted as saying by multiple press reports. Jindal’s goal is “to preserve and grow thyssenkrupp’s 200-year industrial legacy and help transform it into Europe’s largest integrated low-emission steelmaker.”
Jindal would invest €2 billion ($2.4 billion) in the transformation at the Duisburg production plants. According to a report by Reuters, it would also be prepared to take over the company’s pension liabilities.
If acquired by Jindal, thyssenkrupp Steel would benefit from low-emission metallics or slab supply from Jindal’s new plant in Oman, which is scheduled to start operations in 2027, as well as iron ore from its mines in Cameroon.
The offer from the Indian group has been welcomed in principle by parent thyssenkrup AG, which has tried for years to spin off its steel unit. Union IG Metall also welcomed the news, underlining the significance of the green transition and the importance of maintaining jobs.
Incidentally, the offer became public on the day that annual collective wage bargaining talks began between IG Metall and German mill employers. The union is keeping its claims modest this time around. In view of the difficult economic situation, it has not entered the talks with defined wage increase claims. Another meeting will follow at the end of this week.
In the name of thyssenkrupp Steel workers, IG Metall struck earlier this month an agreement with the company on lower wages and working hours, and a reduction of certain standard benefits.
Christian Koehl Germany
