Updated

Tata Steel says it is talking to firms including Germany's Thyssenkrupp about a potential joint venture in Europe — effectively halting a plan to sell off its British businesses.

The Indian conglomerate has been looking to dispose of its loss-making U.K. businesses. Tata has said it is losing 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) a day in Britain amid high costs and a glut of cheap Chinese steel.

Tata's British assets include a steel plant in Port Talbot, Wales, that employs 4,000 people.

Tata Group Executive Director Koushik Chatterjee said Friday that "the inclusion of the U.K. business in the potential joint venture" would require support from the British and Welsh governments.

The British government has offered to take a 25-percent stake in any rescue of Tata.