Thyssen supervisory board has not discussed Tata tie-up

Thyssenkrupp's supervisory board has not yet discussed a possible tie-up of its European steel operations with those of Tata Steel, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Thyssenkrupp shares pared gains on the news and traded 3.7 per cent higher by 0738 GMT.

Germany's Rheinische Post newspaper had reported earlier that Tata Steel was planning to take a stake in the Thyssenkrupp unit, citing government sources in Berlin.

Tata Steel's plans to sell its UK steelmaking business raised expectations this week of a long-awaited consolidation of Europe's battered steel sector, with a Tata-Thyssenkrupp combination excluding the UK seen as most likely.

Two sources with knowledge of the matter said that all of Europe's steel producers were talking to one another but that nothing concrete was yet in sight.