The US investment fund Flacks Group, which specializes in distressed companies, has expressed interest in acquiring the long-struggling business. "We are ready to make an offer" should Thyssenkrupp's current efforts to divest the steel division fail, Flacks Group CEO Michael Flacks told news agency Reuters on Thursday. Thyssenkrupp shares temporarily rose on the news, trading 1.5 percent higher in the afternoon. "The significant progress in the realignment of the steel business and changing market conditions are also opening up new strategic options for us," a Thyssenkrupp spokesperson said. The company is becoming "attractive again." "As is well known, Jindal Steel from India has expressed interest in our steel business, and we are in constructive talks," the spokesperson added.
Jindal Steel submitted a non-binding takeover offer for the ailing steel division last September. The Indian company has sought the approval of the powerful IG Metall union and the works council, and has committed to transforming the business into a green production model. Negotiations with the Indian steel group Jindal Steel over an acquisition of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe are intensive, Thyssenkrupp CEO Miguel Lopez said most recently in February. In the past, attempts to sell the steel business, create a steel joint venture, or launch an IPO have failed.
The steel business is the former core of the Ruhr conglomerate. It is already clear that up to 11,000 of the division's approximately 26,000 jobs will be cut or outsourced in the coming years.
Flacks, known as a tough restructuring expert, is no stranger to the steel sector. Last year, he had already expressed interest in acquiring a stake in what was once Europe's largest steel plant in Taranto, southern Italy.
(Reporting by Andres Gonzalez and Christoph Steitz, written by Ralf Banser and Matthias Inverardi, edited by Sabine Ehrhardt - For inquiries, please contact the editorial management at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)
