Thyssenkrupp has raised the valuation of its steel division by 25%

The German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp has raised the valuation of its steel business (Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, TKSE) by a quarter. This came almost immediately after negotiations to sell it to the Indian company Jindal Steel broke down. Reuters reported this.

Thyssenkrupp CEO Miguel López noted that significant differences in the valuation of the asset were the reason for the failure of the latest round of negotiations. According to Reuters, the parties could not reach an agreement on the value of the business, given the burden of pension obligations.

According to the company’s CFO, Axel Hamann, Thyssenkrupp increased the division’s book value from €2.4 billion (as of December) to €3 billion ($3.5 billion). Several factors contributed to this:

• Workforce restructuring: an agreement with labor unions to cut or outsource 11,000 jobs;
• Asset optimization: a recent agreement to exit the HKM joint steelmaking venture;
• Protectionism: the introduction of European safeguard measures to shield local industry from cheap Asian imports.

“Thanks to positive developments over the past six months… we have, quite naturally, arrived at a different assessment of the steel business,” López emphasized.

Miguel López stated that the strategic goal remains the sale of TKSE while Thyssenkrupp retains a minority stake. However, the priority at this time is the internal restructuring of the division, although the company remains open to new proposals.

At the same time, Thyssenkrupp has lowered its sales forecast for 2026, reflecting weak economic activity in Europe. The new forecast projects revenue growth in the range of -3% to 0%, whereas the previous forecast projected a range of -2% to +1%.

As a reminder, for the first quarter of the 2025/2026 fiscal year (October–December 2025), Thyssenkrupp reported a net loss of €334 million. The group recorded restructuring costs for its steel business—funding large-scale job cuts—in the amount of €401 million ($477 million).

As reported by GMK Center, the American investment fund Flacks Group had previously been prepared to make an offer to acquire Thyssenkrupp’s steel division if attempts to sell it failed. Flacks Group’s primary focus is currently on Italy, but the fund is interested in large steel companies.