ThyssenKrupp AG's major shareholders plan to vote against the German steelmaker's proposed European steel joint venture with Tata Steel Ltd. amid doubts about the deal, Bloomberg News reported June 18, citing people familiar with the matter.

The shareholders, which include Cevian Capital and Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung, are mounting pressure on ThyssenKrupp management to sweeten the terms of the deal with the Indian steelmaker.

According to the report, talks over the final terms of the agreement are reaching its conclusion, with the German steelmaker's future hinged on the deal's outcome.

An option under consideration is to raise ThyssenKrupp's equity stake in the partnership and keep the voting rights at a 50-50 split, a June 13 Bloomberg News report noted. ThyssenKrupp sought revisions to the deal after profits plunged at Tata's European steel business.

Activist shareholder Elliott Management recently asked the company to secure a more favorable deal, saying Tata's recent underperformance skewed the balance against ThyssenKrupp to the tune of €1.9 billion less for the German group if the deal proceeds in its current form.