FRANKFURT, April 18 (Reuters) – ThyssenKrupp is
putting the finishing touches on the sale of three businesses in
the automotive sector, less than three months after the German
steel group sold its stainless steel business, several people
close to the transaction said.
The three units up for sale, its Thyssenkrupp’s springs and
stabilizers business, its iron-casting unit Waupaca and Tailored
Blanks, have total annual revenue of about 2.5 billion euros
($3.28 billion).
A spokesman for ThyssenKrupp declined to provide details of
ongoing divestment talks, saying only: “All processes are
proceeding well.”
A person close to the transaction said ThyssenKrupp is set
to sell the springs and stabilizers business – carved out of its
Bilstein Group – to Italy’s Sogefi for 100-200 million euros,
adding a private equity group, stood ready to scoop up the asset
if talks with Sogefi failed at the last minute.
Separately, ThyssenKrupp appears to have chosen a preferred
buyer for iron-casting unit Waupaca, which may fetch around $600
million, several people familiar with the matter said.
For the third unit, Tailored Blanks, a Chinese bidder
remains, but industry sources cautioned that the deal may be
scuppered by the recent political crisis in China.
The companies and banks declined to comment.
