German industrial giant thyssenkrupp said on May 12 that its second-quarter net loss more than quadrupled to 948 million euros ($1.02 billion) in the year to the end of march, as the coronavirus outbreak hit all of its business lines, from steel to submarines.
Separately, the group forecast that the third-quarter loss could widen further to 1 billion euros
Thyssenkrupp group management is currently in talks with representatives of other steelmakers about the sale of the steel unit, according to German media sources within the group and the industry.Interested investors include China's BaoWusteel, Sweden Steel AB and the European arm of India's tata, after thyssenkrupp sought to merge with tata Steel Europe but was blocked by eu antitrust authorities.Thyssenkrupp is still not giving up on plans to merge with tata steel Europe, according to insiders, as the group has long argued that the European steel industry needs consolidation.
The state of negotiations in thyssenkrupp's steel division has been closely watched and discussed within IG Metall, a trade union.The union, like the company's internal management committee, is worried that the steel sector will be sold off abroad.Both baosteel and SSAB want majority stakes, and tata steel should feel the same way, according to a person familiar with the matter.
IG Metall, on the other hand, prefers the merger of thyssenkrupp steel, the Saarhutten association (the professional and employers' association of the steel industry in the saarland state of Germany) and Salzgitter.There were also earlier reports that thyssenkrupp's steel unit would merge with rival salzgeet, which were denied by both sides.Thyssenkrupp has yet to make a final decision
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