Thyssenkrupp's CEO: Thyssenkrupp could sell steel business in historic shift
2020-05-21 09:25:32 [Print]
Thyssenkrupp could sell most of its steelmaking division, its CEO said on Tuesday, marking a historic reversal in strategy for the German conglomerate which has built its 200-year-old legacy as an industrial champion on the business.
"Nothing is off-limits anymore," Martina Merz said when asked if Thyssenkrupp could a sell a majority stake in the steel business. She warned, however, that any disposals would be difficult to pull off in the current environment. "M&A markets are almost dead," she said.
Merz was speaking hours after announcing that the group was in talks with steel industry peers about consolidation options. She said the coronavirus pandemic was opening up new possibilities for cooperation.
"We are drawing on the full range of options," she said. "That means all forms of consolidation are being looked at, including mergers, takeovers, us acquiring peers, and us developing the unit independently."
The fact that the steel division is no longer deemed an essential part of Thyssenkrupp represents a fundamental shift for a company that started off life in 1811 when Friedrich Krupp set up a factory to make cast steel.
The announcement accelerates Thyssenkrupp's dismantling, a process that started last year when the group decided to sell its crown jewel: its elevators unit.
"Nothing is off-limits anymore," Martina Merz said when asked if Thyssenkrupp could a sell a majority stake in the steel business. She warned, however, that any disposals would be difficult to pull off in the current environment. "M&A markets are almost dead," she said.
Merz was speaking hours after announcing that the group was in talks with steel industry peers about consolidation options. She said the coronavirus pandemic was opening up new possibilities for cooperation.
"We are drawing on the full range of options," she said. "That means all forms of consolidation are being looked at, including mergers, takeovers, us acquiring peers, and us developing the unit independently."
The fact that the steel division is no longer deemed an essential part of Thyssenkrupp represents a fundamental shift for a company that started off life in 1811 when Friedrich Krupp set up a factory to make cast steel.
The announcement accelerates Thyssenkrupp's dismantling, a process that started last year when the group decided to sell its crown jewel: its elevators unit.
