Andreas Goss named CEO of Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel
Mumbai: Andreas Goss will be the future chief executive officer of Tata Steel Europe’s planned joint venture with European steel maker Thyssenkrupp, Tata Steel said in a press release today, announcing the senior management executives of the joint venture. He will also chair the management board of Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel BV, the joint venture.
Goss is currently chief executive officer of Thyssenkrupp’s steel division.
Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp AG signed definitive agreements in June 2018 to combine their European steel businesses in a 50/50 joint venture. The proposed new company, to be named Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel BV, headquartered in the Amsterdam area, will be a pan-European flat steel producer. The joint venture is subject to merger control clearance in several jurisdictions, including in the European Union.
Hans Fischer, currently the CEO of Tata Steel Europe, will be the deputy CEO and chief technology officer of the new company. Sandip Biswas, currently the group executive vice-president (finance) of Tata Steel Ltd, is the designated chief financial officer while Premal Desai, currently the chief financial officer of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, will be the chief strategy officer of the joint venture.
Apart from the above appointments, Tata Steel said in its release that it will announce the next management level for the joint venture early in the new year.
“The management board and the future top leadership team will be responsible for the planning and execution of the post-merger integration and the long-term business strategy once the planned joint venture has received the necessary regulatory approvals and after closing,” the release said.
Until the completion of the merger process, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Tata Steel in Europe will continue to operate as separate companies and as competitors and the incumbent organisation of the respective companies will continue to operate as currently. The members of the designated management board will continue in their existing roles within their businesses until the formation of the joint venture post all regulatory approvals.
The European Commission has launched a deeper investigation into the Tata Steel-Thyssenkrupp merger over concerns that the joint venture would gain majority market share and hence affect competition in steel for the automotive sector, metallic coated steel for packaging and grain-oriented electrical steel.
At the time of the announcement of the joint venture, the companies had said that due diligence and fairness opinions had confirmed the economic viability of the new company and the expected annual recurring synergies of approximately €400-500 million.
“After closing, the synergies will be generated in several areas, including procurement, consolidation of overheads and through a better asset utilization. It is expected that there will be opportunities in capital expenditure management and working capital optimisation to realize additional synergies.”
