Thyssenkrupp sells Indian electrical steel business to Indian-Japanese consortium

Thyssenkrupp has announced the sale of its Indian subsidiary, Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel India Private Ltd., to a consortium consisting of JSW Steel Limited and JFE Steel Corporation. The transaction, valued at approximately €440 million, marks the transfer of Thyssenkrupp’s electrical steel business in India to the Indian-Japanese consortium. Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel India is part of the company’s Electrical Steel unit within its steel division, with its main facility located in Nashik, around 150 kilometers from Mumbai. The company employs around 500 people in India. The buyer consortium includes JSW Steel Limited, India’s largest steel producer, and JFE Steel Corporation, the second-largest steelmaker in Japan. The deal is expected to close in the coming months.

The sale is driven by strategic market considerations. Dennis Grimm, spokesperson for the management board of Thyssenkrupp Steel, explained, "Supplying raw materials from Thyssenkrupp's German steel plants to India is costly and weakens our long-term competitiveness in the region. Building our own local production facilities for raw materials is not economically viable for us. Compared to local competitors, we will not be able to achieve the same economies of scale through supplies from Germany. Therefore, selling the business is the right step at this time."

The proceeds from the sale will strengthen the financial position of Thyssenkrupp’s steel division and support its green transformation efforts, including projects related to electrical steel. Given the growing global demand for grain-oriented electrical steel, particularly due to the energy transition, Thyssenkrupp will refocus its efforts on expanding in Europe and North America.

Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel is a leading manufacturer of grain-oriented electrical steel, a soft magnetic material essential for efficient energy conversion, transportation, and utilization in devices like transformers and high-performance generators. These components are crucial in decentralized energy supply systems driven by renewable energy. Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel operates facilities in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and Isbergues, France, employing around 1,200 people. Its customers include global leaders in energy and drive technology sectors.

Source: Thyssenkrupp, Photo: Fotolia