ThyssenKrupp in share sale
GERMAN steelmaker ThyssenKrupp fell to a one-month low yesterday after it sold almost 10 per cent of its capital held as treasury stock to cut debt, in a quick fix after the failed sale of civilian shipbuilding assets.
ThyssenKrupp, whose shares fell almost six per cent, had said late on Wednesday it would sell 49.5m shares – or all of the shares it has bought back since 2006 – through an accelerated bookbuild to reduce a debt pile swollen by spending on steel mills in Brazil and the US.
The offer was priced at €32.95, at the bottom end of an earlier range and below Wednesday’s close at €34.75, raising €1.6bn.
ThyssenKrupp said the difference against the average price at which it bought the shares, €30.92 including brokerage, would be recognised as equity.
The group spent €1.57bn buying back shares from 2006 to 2008, when its shares fell as low as €11.7, according to its releases.
ThyssenKrupp’s plan to sell the loss-making mega-yacht and maintenance businesses of Blohm + Voss to Abu Dhabi MAR fell apart last week, increasing the cost of insuring the group against default and hampering a move to strengthen its balance sheet.