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Thyssenkrupp steelworkers: Industry icon about to be partially sold?
Photo: Fabian Strauch / EPO
The spin-off of Thyssenkrupp's steel business is apparently taking shape. According to a report in the »Handelsblatt«, billionaire Daniel Křetínský could receive a 50 percent stake in the industrial group's division. The company and the billionaire declined to comment.
At the end of June, SPIEGEL had already reported on a possible sale or partial sale of the steel division, from which Thyssenkrupp expects fresh money. Even then, Křetínský was considered a possible buyer.
Křetínský became known in Germany for his participation in the Metro retail group. His EPH is also active in power generation and distribution in Europe through numerous companies. In 2016, he bought Sweden's Vattenfall's German lignite business: Brandenburg's Leag, which now also has ambitious plans for renewable energies.
Thyssenkrupp's management also expects the Czech entrepreneur's participation to provide access to low-cost green electricity. According to Handelsblatt, the group and Kretinsky's company EP Holding are to merge the steel business. In this way, we are providing certainty that Thyssenkrupp Steel will survive in the long term," said a source close to those involved. Should there be financial bottlenecks, two owners would be ready to inject capital in the future.
The Ministry of Economy has reservations about Křetínský. Because Habeck's department has been harping with the Leag for months. The company's top management is reluctant to bring forward the phase-out of lignite mining in eastern Germany to 2030. Already in the negotiations on the coal phase-out in 2038, the Czech investor earned a reputation for driving up state compensation payments and not pursuing a long-term corporate strategy. Křetínský denies this.
Ssu