“We opened the door for negotiations, but in the end our ideas about the corporate value and the structure of the transaction were far apart,” said thyssenkrupp chief financial officer Klaus Keysberg. 

“We regret this step because we perceived LIBERTY Steel as a serious partner in the process. Now it is important for us to ensure the future viability of our steel business on our own. We are working flat out on this, as we have underlined in the past few weeks and months,” he said. 

Discussions between LIBERTY Steel and thyssenkrupp began last fall, after LIBERTY made a non-binding offer for thyssenkrupp’s steel unit. It presented a firmed up offer last month. 

With the discussions at an end, the focus will shift to thyssenkrupp’s two other options for the steel division, spinning it off or keeping it, the Reuters news service reported.