FILE PHOTO: A logo of Thyssenkrupp AG is pictured at the company’s headquarters in Essen, Germany, November 21, 2018. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German industrial group Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) is in talks to buy metals trader Kloeckner & Co (KCOGn.DE) in a move to strengthen its steel business, Handelsblatt reported on Thursday citing sources familiar with the matter.
CEO Guido Kerkhoff, under pressure after a fourth profit warning on his watch sent Thyssenkrupp shares to a 16-year low, has put a deal to buy Kloeckner at the center of a turnaround plan he is working on, the newspaper reported.
“This objective is very concrete and has a good chance of being realized,” one source familiar with the matter told Handelsblatt. Thyssenkrupp declined comment while no comment was immediately available from Kloeckner.
Reporting by Douglas Busvine and Tom Kaeckenhoff, editing by Thomas Escritt