Steel division probably before the sale: Thyssenkrupp shares take off

The ailing steel division at Thyssenkrupp may be on the verge of collapse. The British steel group Liberty Steel has already submitted an offer for the ailing segment. Investors are happy.

On Friday, Thyssenkrupp shareholders hoped for a solution to the ailing steel business. The reason for this: The British company Liberty Steel wants to take over the entire division. "Today we received an indicative offer to acquire the steel business," said Thyssenkrupp. "We are now looking carefully at this offer. At the same time, we will continue our talks with other potential partners in the same way as before. Our goal is to make the steel business sustainable for the future. For us, it depends on the best solution to find."

The badly shaken Thyssenkrupp share shot up by up to a quarter. Most recently, they led the MDax with an increase of 15.09 percent to 4.79 euros. After the multi-billion dollar sale of the elevator division, the Ruhr area group could part with its roots. The Indian Tata group and the Swedish SSAB group were also among the interested parties, according to a "Spiegel" report.

Thyssenkrupp did not want to comment on the information on Friday morning. After a horrific share price development of Thyssenkrupp, which reflects the chaos in the group, the report on the sale of the steel division holds great potential, according to a trader. In the course of the year alone, the paper has lost around 60 percent.

A sale would de facto mean that Thyssenkrupp will split up, as the elevator business has already been sold and other areas are still up for sale, the dealer said. At the end of July, for example, the Essen-based company sold the elevator division to financial investors for a good 17 billion euros, thereby gaining financial freedom.

Thyssenkrupp has needed money for years to manage the restructuring of the group and to reduce its debt. However, the Corona crisis is throwing the Essenes in the way of the original plans, they expect a billion-dollar loss in this financial year. The future of the steel business has recently made investors more worried.

A few days ago, IG Metall called for the state to enter the steel division of the traditional Essen company as a rescue measure. However, negative signals had come from politics. Group boss Martina Merz has therefore been looking for a partner for some time. However, all previous attempts have failed.