Tata Steel may scrap merger plans with Thyssenkrupp

Tata Steel may be considering breaking off talks over a planned merger of its European business with German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, a UK media report claimed on Sunday.

The merger talks had been revealed by the Indian steel giant last year as part of a major restructuring of its UK steel business.

Such a deal with the German steel major could potentially lead to the formation of a European steel behemoth with blast furnaces in Wales, the Netherlands and Germany. However, 'The Sunday Times' claims that the deal may be under threat due to German pension liabilities.

The deal has been slow moving as Tata Steel tries to solve the problem of its own 15-billion-pound British steel pensions scheme.