Thyssenkrupp to pare back funding for steel unit in 50:50 JV with Kretinsky

By Christoph Steitz and Tom Käckenhoff

FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) -Thyssenkrupp will merely contribute funding to its steel division should the German conglomerate agree on a 50:50 joint venture for the unit with Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, it said on Wednesday.

The German group plans to close a sale of 20% in the division to Kretinsky by the end of September while talks over the sale of an additional 30% in Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) continue.

Thyssenkrupp said that it would continue to finance the steel division "for the time being" after the sale of the 20% stake in the steel to Kretinsky has been completed by the end of September.

However, in the case of a 50:50 joint venture this would be pared back to "supporting contributions from both partners" to what Thyssenkrupp said would be an independent financing structure.

The comments came in response to allegations by labour union IG Metall that Thyssenkrupp could ditch financial responsibility for TKSE as part of a partial sale that would entail the cancellation of a domination agreement.

IG Metall, a major stakeholder in Thyssenkrupp's steel business, said the unit needed 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in funds for an independent future, adding lack of it would mean "certain death" for the business.

In the latest sign of upheaval at the company, Thyssenkrupp late on Wednesday said that Arnd Koefler, TKSE's chief technology officer since May 2022, would leave the company effective June 30 for personal reasons.

Koefler is in charge of TKSE's strategy and implementation of the transformation towards climate neutral steel production and will be succeeded by Dennis Grimm, part of the management team of HKM, itself a joint venture of TKSE (50%), Salzgitter (30%) and Vallourec (20%).

($1 = 0.9217 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Editing by Rachel More, Madeline Chambers and Marguerita Choy)