UK. Tata Steel agrees British pensions deal
India’s Tata Steel (TISC.NS) has agreed the main terms of a deal to cut benefits for its British pension scheme in a move that will see the firm back a new plan that will pose less risk to the company.
The pension scheme is a major stumbling block in talks to merge Tata’s British and European steel assets with those of Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE), because the German company is opposed to taking on 15 billion pounds ($19.37 billion) in UK pension liabilities.
The fate of Tata’s British businesses, including the country’s largest steelworks at Port Talbot, has been in the air since Tata Steel said a year ago it planned to sell its British assets following heavy losses.
Pensions consultants questioned, however, whether the pensions deal announced on Tuesday would be enough to satisfy Thyssenkrupp.
Tata said the deal will see it plough 550 million pounds into the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), one of Britain’s largest final salary schemes with 130,000 members.
The deal is subject to formal approval by The Pensions Regulator, but Tata said it expected to get approval shortly.
Full Content: Reuters
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