FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Britain's vote to leave the European Union does not change the likelihood of Thyssenkrupp (DE:TKAG) and Tata merging their steel operations, Thyssenkrupp's finance chief said.
"Brexit is something that definitely affects us on the timeline... for the discussion, it's actually neutral," Guido Kerkhoff told reporters on a conference call after Thyssenkrupp reported third-quarter results on Thursday.
Germany's Thyssenkrupp and India's Tata Steel confirmed last month they were in talks about a consolidation of beleaguered European steel mills that are hit by overcapacity, weak demand and cheap imports.
Kerkhoff said he could not predict how long the talks with Tata might take. "Sometimes one has to live with uncertainty," he said.