Liberty Steel bid for Thyssenkrupp steel unit off
Liberty Steel’s efforts to buy the steel division of Thyssenkrupp came to an end today as the German industrial giant called off the talks.
It said that the differing views over the value of the wing had led to the break off of negotiations.
However, a spokesperson for Liberty Steel said that it was “keeping the talks open” for the talks to restart.
The deal is the second European steel merger to fall through in a matter of weeks, after SSAB pulled out of efforts to buy Tata’s Dutch assets.
Last month Liberty Steel, which is owned by tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, firmed up a non-binding offer for Thyssenkrupp’s long-suffering division.
The unit crashed to a loss of over €1bn last year, leading to the group mulling spinning it off.
“We regret this step because we perceived Liberty Steel as a serious partner in the process,” Thyssenkrupp finance chief Klaus Keysberg said in a statement.
In an internal memo to staff seen by Reuters, Keysberg said differing views over the value of the division, financing structure and guarantees were the key reasons to end discussions.
The end of the talks means that Thyssenkrupp with either have to keep the division or spin it off to shareholders.
Both options will demand cost savings and job cuts.
In a statement, Liberty Steel said: “We note the announcement from Thyssenkrupp. Discussions have been suspended at this stage due to differences in pricing expectations however we are keeping the door open.
“Liberty remains confident that it has put forward the only long term sustainable plan for Thyssenkrupp’s steel business and we will continue to engage to seek to eliminate the valuation gap in due course.”