London: Tata Steel on Tuesday said it will enter into talks over selling struggling facilities in Britain and France to a private equity firm, as its Indian parent battles against lower prices.
“This is an extremely critical time for the whole industry, and we have been working hard to explore all options that could provide a future for the Long Products Europe business,” Karl Koehler, chief executive of Tata Steel’s European operations, said in a company statement.
“We will now move into detailed negotiations with Greybull Capital. It is too early to give any certainty about the potential outcome of these discussions.”
Tata is looking at offloading steelworks, mills, an engineering workshops and design consultancy that are all based in northern England.
It also wants to sell mills in Scotland that are currently mothballed, as well as a mill in northern France.
Tata in October said it would cut around 1,200 jobs at two plants in Britain, blaming the move in part on cheap steel imports from China.
About 4,700 people are employed at Long Products Europe and its distribution facilities, Tata said in Tuesday’s statement.
Across all its businesses, Tata Steel Europe employs about 30,000 people, including some 17,000 in Britain.
