Mumbai: Six months after steel magnate Naveen Jindal made an unsolicited bid to acquire the steel assets of Germany’s Thyssenkrupp AG, the two sides have hit an impasse over three key sticking points, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Jindal Steel International, the Indian bidder, is seeking clarity on the pension liabilities and retrenchment costs it would inherit with the asset. The company also wants to know how much fiscal support the German government would provide to help fund the transition from blast furnace-based steelmaking to relatively cleaner operations, in line with support extended by other European governments to their domestic steelmakers. However, Thyssenkrupp first wants Jindal to disclose its post-acquisition investment plans for the asset and explain how it intends to finance them, one of the two people said.
This follows an intensive technical inspection, where executives and consultants from the Indian side made multiple visits to the Duisberg-based steel mill of Thyssenkrupp as well as its downstream facilities across Germany to evaluate the quality of the asset. From the Indian side, the negotiations are being led by Naveen Jindal, his son Venkatesh and Narendra Misra, director of European operations of Jindal.
While the technical inspection is complete and negotiations have progressed to financial discussions, neither side wants to make a commitment first, resulting in an impasse over what is effectively a four-way deal between Jindal, Thyssenkrupp, employee unions, and the German government.
executives are increasingly getting doubtful that the deal would fructify, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.
The impasse comes at a time when US-based investment fund Flacks Group has evinced interest in Thyssenkrupp, increasing competition for the company, Reuters reported earlier this week. Interestingly, the Flacks Group is also negotiating the takeover of Italy’s Acciaierie d’Italia, another major asset for which Jindal had unsuccessfully made an acquisition bid last year. The investment fund did not immediately respond to Mint’s request for a comment.
To be sure, neither Jindal nor Thyssenkrupp have given up on the deal and negotiations are on to resolve the differences, both the people quoted above clarified.
“It is right, that we are continuing confidential discussions with Jindal Steel International and employee representatives regarding a possible sale of thyssenkrupp Steel,” a spokesperson for Thyssenkrupp told Mint in an email response, declining to comment further on the progress of the negotiations.
“The non-binding, indicative purchase offer from Jindal Steel International is subject to all relevant parameters—including valuation, obligations, and future investments—being addressed directly between the parties in the ongoing due diligence process and in the course of any contract negotiations,” the spokesperson said.
The group did not immediately respond to Mint’s request for a comment.
“Such pauses are hardly uncommon in cross-border acquisitions of this scale. Each side is, quite naturally, attempting to de-risk the transaction—the buyer seeking clarity on labour and restructuring liabilities, the seller seeking financial commitment to offset its own risks,” said Monish G. Chatrath, managing partner of MGC Global Risk Advisory.
Europe on the mind
Jindal Steel International made an unsolicited offer to acquire Germany’s largest steel business from Thyssenkrupp AG in September 2025 with an investment commitment of €2 billion (over ₹21,000 crore). The company said its iron ore mines in Cameroon would ensure steady supply of raw materials for Thyssenkrupp. It has also promised investments in additional low-emission steel production in Germany.
The bid was largely seen as part of Jindal’s plan to make a privately-held international steel empire with mines in Africa, green steel units in Oman and a domestic presence in Europe that would give it a foothold in one of the world’s largest steel markets.
Earlier in 2025, Jindal had made a bid to acquire Italy’s national steel unit Acciaierie d’Italia, but lost out to Azerbaijan’s Baku Steel, which eventually pulled out of the deal.
But before buying Thyssenkrupp’s plant, Jindal wants financial commitment from the German government to fund a restructuring of the plant and move from blast furnace-based production to electric arc furnaces to comply with Europe’s stringent emission standards.
Such fiscal support is not unheard of in Europe. The UK government is giving £500 million to for a similar restructuring of its Port Talbot steel mill. Tata Steel is also negotiating a similar grant with the Netherlands’ government for its Dutch steel plant. The French government has provided €850 million to support ArcelorMittal’s restructuring of its Dunkirk plant, which includes replacing blast furnaces with electric arc furnaces and a DRI plant.
Thyssenkrupp AG, a diverse German industrial conglomerate, has long been looking to sell its loss-making steel unit as part of a restructuring to become a more focussed and profitable company.
However, its desperation to divest the asset has mellowed recently, as sentiment around European steel operations turned positive in recent months, buoyed by import restrictions. Miguel Angel Lopez Borrego, the chief executive of Thyssenkrupp AG, in an earnings call on 12 February said share prices of many steel makers have risen by as much as 50%.
“There is a clear positive sentiment here. And, of course, that will have for sure to get into an input for the conversations with our colleagues from Jindal, no doubt about that,” he had said.