FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Thyssenkrupp’s interim CEO said on Friday the German behemoth was going through a “difficult” time but hopes to turn the tide by selling or listing its profitable elevators business, valued at over 15 billion euros ($16.5 billion).
A final decision on a full or partial sale of the unit or its stock market flotation will be made “by the end of February”, Martina Merz said at the group’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Bochum.
“Thyssenkrupp finds itself in an extraordinarily difficult situation,” she said, after the group with its steel-to-submarines product range sank deeper into the red in 2018-2019, embarking on a hefty restructuring involving thousands of job cuts.
Deciding the future of the elevator unit was the group’s “top priority”, said Merz, aiming to raise billions of euros in fresh capital that could be used across the conglomerate’s struggling divisions. “This will give Thyssenkrupp a chance at a fresh start,” Merz said.
She declined to give details about potential buyers but revealed that offers received so far valued Thyssenkrupp’s elevators and escalators business at “more than 15 billion euros”. — AFP
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