© Reuters. THYSSENKRUPP WILL CONTINUE to pursue ITS REORGANIZATION AFTER The AGREEMENT WITH TATA
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Thyssenkrupp will continue to pursue its restructuring plan after the signing of a definitive agreement for the merger of its assets iron and steel in Europe with those of the indian Tata Steel, said its president of the executive board Heinrich Hiesinger.
The transaction, concluded on Saturday after two years of negotiations, creates a new set baptized Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel is the second steel company european behind ArcelorMittal (AS:MT) with an annual turnover of 17 billion euros.
Upstream of the presentation of a strategic plan to the board of supervisors next week, Heinrich Hiesinger told the daily regional German Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung that the restructuring of Thyssenkrupp was not completed.
“Our work is never finished and our path is very clear,” he said. “Thyssenkrupp will become an industrial group and services robust.”
The fund activists, Cevian and Elliott argued for months in favor of a simplification of the structure of the German group.
In the framework of the agreement with Tata Steel, Thyssenkrupp alone will decide whether or not to introduce the Stock market (IPO) Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel and the German group would in this case 55% of the proceeds of the sale.
Heinrich Hiesinger has given no timetable on a possible IPO, recalling that the two partners are committed to maintaining a majority of the capital of the joint venture for six years.
He also declined to detail the future projects, restricting himself to declaring that he would give a strategic overview net more”.
Thyssenkrupp may decide to separate from the division of Materials Services, the largest by sales, and some of the activities of shipbuilding.
The supervisory board may take a decision on the issue at its next meeting, said a source.
Heinrich Hiesinger rejects the criticism from some investors, who criticize him his slowness in the reorganization of the conglomerate German, which employs 160,000 people.
“We have implemented a total change of culture,” he told the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. “We have reduced substantially the debt of the company and significantly improved its position in terms of profit.”
(Douglas Busvine; Claude Chendjou for the French service, edited by Bertrand Boucey)