Tata Steel has announced it has started a process of seeking buyers for five of its business units housed under its European arm. The units, spread across the UK, Germany, Sweden, Canada, and Turkey, employs 1,000 people. The $18 billion company had sold the speciality steels and long products businesses to Liberty Group and Greybull Capital respectively. The proposed sale of the five assets will leave Tata Steel to channelise its resources on its strip products business which is in the midst of forming a joint venture with Thyssenkkrupp.
Tata Steel's strip products facilities are based in Port Talbot, UK, and Ijmuiden, Netherlands. The unit's CEO Hans Fischer said, “The customer bases for the businesses being sold are distinct from the rest of Tata Steel Europe. These potential sales would enable Tata Steel Europe to focus investment and management resource on the core strip products business and strategic markets.” The five business units include an electrical steels manufacturing and, processing facilities in the UK, Sweden and Canada, an aluminium roofing and cladding business in Germany, a steel coating outfit in the UK, an engineering steels service centre also in the UK and a metals company in Turkey.
