Thyssenkrupp assessing Carlyle’s bid for marine unit

Thyssenkrupp on Tuesday said it is evaluating the potential partial sale of its marine unit to investment firm Carlyle.

“With the active involvement of Carlyle, we are now taking the necessary next step and starting the phase of an open-ended assessment of the relevant business activities,” Thyssenkrupp’s executive board member Volkmar Dinstuhl said in a statement.

The German industrial conglomerate is trying to sell a stake of about 25% in its marine systems unit, which makes submarines and frigates, mainly due to the burden of providing billions of euros of guarantees to clients.

A sale to Carlyle is one of several options the firm is considering, Dinstuhl added.

At the same time, talks are being held with the German government on the state’s participation in Thyssenkrupp’s marine business, the industrial conglomerate said.

The German economy ministry was not immediately available for comment.

State lender KfW was considering taking a stake in the warship division, it said in early February.

The Carlyle deal could be valued at about €1.5bn ($1.63bn) including debt, Bloomberg reported earlier, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Shares in Thyssenkrupp, which had risen 2% premarket trade in Frankfurt, were up 0.7% by 8.03am GMT.

Reuters