European steel merger derailed by antitrust regulators

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Steelmaking giant Thyssenkrupp of Germany says it expects European antitrust regulators to block its plan to combine its European operations with India's Tata Steel.

Thyssenkrupp said in a statement Friday that the companies had offered changes to address the European Commission's concerns but that hadn't been enough.

The Essen-based company said further concessions would weaken the venture so that it would no longer make business sense.

Shares in Thyssenkrupp soared almost 20% on the news. Tata Steel fell less than 1%.

Thyssenkrupp responded to the rebuff by announcing a restructuring to increase profits. That included a proposal from management to hold a share offering for its elevator business. The company also said it would abandon a plan to split itself into two companies that would hold shares in each other.