Thyssenkrupp Back on Track to Divest Steel Division

Germany: German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp is making yet another attempt to divest its Steel division. Goldman Sachs has been enlisted to help explore options for the sale or spin-off of Europe's second-largest Steelmaker. The idea was put on hold last year, having failed to find a suitable merger partner or attract enough money from investors in an attempted initial public offering.

Thyssenkrupp announced its intention to divest its Steel division, with reports suggesting the business could be valued at 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion), excluding pension obligations. This figure is significantly reduced from the initial 4-billion-euro figure due to higher interest rates.

The company believes a standalone solution, such as a sale, merger or spin-off, is the most beneficial option for the Steel division in terms of capital investments and transitioning to carbon-free production over the coming years.

Hurdles to a potential sale of Thyssenkrupp have been revealed, with a lack of investment having hurt its competitiveness and looming resistance from unions, who currently hold half the seats on the firm's supervisory board. Private equity group CVC, Brazil's CSN and India's Jindal Group are all said to be interested parties. However, a separate source has confirmed that Jindal Steel and Power is not taking part in discussions. The news caused a 5% rise in Thyssenkrupp shares.

CVC is reportedly offering 1 euro for a stake in Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe with investment commitments and pension liabilities of around 2.5 billion euros. The issue of the sale will be discussed at the Thyssenkrupp supervisory board meeting on March 31. Some labour representatives, however, prefer that the company keep Steel Europe despite several crises leading to the sale of its most profitable asset - elevators - last year.