DUESSELDORF (Reuters) -Salzgitter aims to find clarity within a few months on the ownership of its steel joint venture Huettenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM), which is threatened with closure, its CEO said.
“We are examining the options and will make a decision after the summer,” Salzgitter CEO Gunnar Groebler told journalists at an event in Duesseldorf late on Thursday.
HKM, or Huettenwerke Krupp Mannesmann with annual steel output of 4-5 million tonnes, is a 50-30-20 joint venture between Thyssenkrupp, Salzgitter and Vallourec.
Main investor Thyssenkrupp has previously been working towards a sale of its stake.
Thyssenkrupp’s unit Steel Europe in April decided to terminate a supply contract with HKM, in a further step to sever ties with the business.
European steelmakers have been under pressure from high energy costs and cheap Asian rivals.
The CEO of Salzgitter, which uses some of HKM’s steel output for further processing, ruled out a closure of HKM over the short term but he also stressed Salzgitter would not take over HKM outright.
(Reporting by Tom KaeckenhoffWriting by Ludwig BurgerEditing by Friederike Heine)
