Thyssenkrupp Seeks Clarification on Liberty Steel Offer

The bid, which Britain's Liberty Steel filed in January for the purchase of Thyssenkrupp's steel division, is to be clarified in ongoing negotiations between the two firms, the German group's CEO said.

The application still contains “a number of difficult aspects that require further clarification,” Martina Merz said in a speech prepared for the group's annual general meeting, scheduled for February 5th. "We are in talks with Liberty Steel about this."

Liberty Steel has filed a so-called strengthened bid to acquire Thyssenkrupp's steel division, promising to abide by existing labor agreements as well as provide more financial freedom to fund the deal.

Merz did not elaborate on the stone claims, which include pension liabilities of around 4 billion euros ($ 4.83 billion) associated with the steel division of Thyssenkrupp, and the question of whether all or part of them can be transferred under transactions.

Merz said Thyssenkrupp intends to decide whether to sell or retain the division in March, adding alternatives to the sale, including spinning off the division or keeping it within the group.

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure the viability of steel in the future and thus protect the prospects of our employees. In our opinion, this is more important than the issue of ownership, ”said Merz.

Thyssenkrupp shares are up 2.7%.

Merz did not suggest she was trying to reopen negotiations with other steelmakers, just days after talks between India's Tata Steel and Swedish SSAB, both of which saw potential partners, broke off.

SSAB has completed negotiations with Tata Steel to buy the Indian firm's Dutch assets due to the costs required to decarbonize production, sources close to the deal said, which could also arise in negotiations between Thyssenkrupp and Liberty.