The future of Thyssenkrupp's steel business remains uncertain. During a meeting of the supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp Steel SE, no agreement could be reached on key issues regarding future financing and restructuring, as Supervisory Board Chairman Sigmar Gabriel explained after the meeting.

An expert report is to clarify what financial support is required from the parent company, so that the steel subsidiary can operate independently in the long term after the planned spin-off. The result of this investigation is expected by the end of the year. The meeting did not address any potential job cuts.

However, it is clear that thyssenkrupp Steel wants to sell its 50 percent stake in the Duisburg steel company Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM) in order to reduce steel capacities by the announced 2 million tons per year. If a sale does not materialize, a closure of the company together with co-owners Salzgitter and Vallourec will be considered.

Gabriel confirmed that the Hamburg investment company CE Capital Partners is in talks as a potential buyer for HKM. This company aims to capitalize on the market gap created by the Ukraine war, especially the disruption of steel slab deliveries from Ukraine to Europe.

The supervisory board will continue to discuss the future of the steel business on August 29.

Simultaneously, thyssenkrupp is planning a joint venture in the marine sector with the Bremen shipyard group Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) for the construction of frigates. The Federal Cartel Office has been notified of the establishment of the joint venture for examination. Details on this have not yet been commented on by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).

The share of thyssenkrupp reacted to the uncertainties by declining and closed in XETRA trading 1.17 percent lower at 3.38 euros.