Talks to sell Thyssenkrupp's steel division to India's Jindal Steel International are not making progress and the long-awaited deal must not be stalled for months, the German company's deputy supervisory board chairman said on Friday.
Juergen Kerner, who is also the deputy head of Germany's IG Metall trade union, said labour representatives had presented Jindal, which has been doing due diligence on Thyssenkrupp's steel unit, also known as TKSE, since October, with a detailed questionnaire.
Workers left in limbo
"We were promised answers, but these have subsequently been postponed several times. Apparently, the discussions between Thyssenkrupp AG and Jindal are taking longer than expected," Kerner said in a statement.
"So things are not moving forward, and that is a bad thing," Kerner said because workers could not "afford to be left in limbo for months".
In September, Jindal made a non-binding bid for TKSE, Europe's No. 2 steelmaker, creating a new opportunity for parent Thyssenkrupp to part with a volatile business that it has sought to sell for years.
A Thyssenkrupp spokesperson said talks with Jindal Steel were ongoing, also referring to comments by CEO Miguel Lopez last week, who said that discussions covered valuation and future investments and that TKSE would be made fit for the future, with or without Jindal.
Jindal Steel International had no immediate comment.
Earlier this month, Flacks Group, a U.S. investor in distressed assets, signalled it could step in as potential buyer of TKSE if current talks fall through.
Lopez said in February that planned EU measures to protect the bloc's struggling steel sector have boosted investor sentiment and strengthened Thyssenkrupp's position in the talks with Jindal.
A solution for TKSE, which is closely tied to Germany's industrial history, is seen as the centrepiece of the CEO's strategy to turn the sprawling group into a holding.
