Thyssenkrupp says steel joint venture sale under review after suitor emerged

FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) -Thyssenkrupp, Salzgitter and France's Vallourec are reviewing a sale of their steel joint venture HKM after they were approached by a potential buyer, Germany's largest steelmaker said on Friday.

A sale of HKM, of which Thyssenkrupp owns 50%, would be a major step in the group's efforts to restructure its steel business, ahead of a potential partial sale to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

"We confirm that we have been approached by an interested party for the acquisition of HKM," Thyssenkrupp said in a statement, adding a sales process was being reviewed in consultation with Salzgitter and Vallourec, which hold 30% and 20% in HKM, respectively.

Detlef Wetzel, labour representative and deputy supervisory board chairman of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE), the German conglomerate's steel division, told regional newspaper WAZ that Hamburg-based investor CE Capital Partners had already presented its plans to parts of TKSE's supervisory board.

CE Capital Partners, which says on its website that it invests in "special situations, such as carve-outs or distressed and other complex challenges", declined to comment.

HKM employs around 3,000 staff and produces around 4 million metric tons of steel a year. The division has been an issue for TKMS, which is under pressure to decarbonise its production and has warned of significant job and capacity cuts.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Editing by Miranda Murray and Barbara Lewis)