Thyssenkrupp’s struggling steel unit receives surprise bid from Indian billionaire
Naveen Jindal’s offer potentially opens door for German industrial conglomerate to offload the business
Indian billionaire Naveen Jindal has made a surprise bid to buy Thyssenkrupp’s struggling steel unit, opening the door for the German industrial conglomerate to offload the business.
Jindal Steel, part of the magnate’s industrial group, said on Tuesday that it would enter into discussions with Thyssenkrupp over a potential purchase. The German company said it would “carefully review” the offer, whose value was not disclosed.
The Essen-based conglomerate is in the middle of a drawn-out restructuring process aimed at spinning off its five core divisions into separate businesses and converting Thyssenkrupp into a holding company.
The German group has been exploring a deal to sell half of the steel unit to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský. Křetínský’s EP Corporate Group took a 20 per cent stake in the steel business last year and has been in discussions with Thyssenkrupp about raising its share by another 30 per cent.
Thyssenkrupp’s steel operations have had to contend with low demand in its key markets, high energy costs and a flood of cheap imports from Asia. The struggles forced the company to write down the value of the unit by €1bn last year, following another impairment of €2.1bn in 2023.
Workers at Thyssenkrupp’s steelworks in Germany earlier this month agreed to cut their hours and bonuses in a drive to cut costs. The deal is part of a turnaround plan for the unit that will slash capacity and cut 11,000 jobs.
Thyssenkrupp has also been fighting to cover the costs of decarbonising its steel production. The company is the recipient of a €2bn subsidy from the German government to install a direct reduction furnace, which produces fewer emissions when powered with green hydrogen at its plant in Duisburg.
Narendra Misra, Jindal Steel’s head of European operations, said the Indian company was committed to the “future of green steel production in Germany and Europe”.
No financial details of the offer were released. Jindal Steel said it planned to complete the direct induction furnace in Duisburg and would commit more than €2bn to install another low-carbon electric furnace.
The Indian billionaire’s steel company had previously been interested in Italy’s ailing Ilva steelworks. Hailing from a leading industrial family, Naveen Jindal runs a wing of a sprawling group with a presence across Africa, Australia, India and Oman. He is also a parliamentarian with the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Thyssenkrupp said it would examine the “economic viability” of Jindal’s offer as well as the “continuation of the green transformation” and employment guarantees.
IG Metall, the union that represents Thyssenkrupp workers, welcomed Jindal’s bid, saying it would “constructively” follow the talks. Employee representatives hold half of the seats on Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board.
Thyssenkrupp’s shares closed up 4 per cent.