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ThyssenKrupp boss Guido Kerkhoff has to leave. This was decided by the Supervisory Board Presidency of the company in a night and fog campaign. The ThyssenKrupp Foundation with mathematician Ursula Gather at the helm and hapless Swedish financial investor Cevian openly applaud. For the two major shareholders, who together hold more than 40 percent of the company, this step could certainly pay off. For the company, its employees and the taxpayer rather not.
The financial investor is truly behaving like a grasshopper. He is likely to count on the elevator division, the only business segment with prospects and high earnings, to be quickly removed from the Group and sold off for a double-digit billion amount. The market leader Kone from Finland is interested in taking over. That would be a nice special dividend, which would be well received by the enduring for years foundation. She could serve her prestigious art and charity projects with the usual generosity.
Set on a breakup
Financial investor Cevian could get out of the deal with ThyssenKrupp halfway across the face. The supposed financial professionals from Sweden had fumbled violently with the entry in 2013. From the beginning, they had relied on a breakup of the group and paid far too high entry prices. They accompanied the attempt by the then boss Heinrich Hiesinger and Kerkhoff continued attempt to bring the industrial group back on track, they only grumbled. An exit with special payment would be just right for them.
On the other hand, the employees of the group, the small shareholders, the location and the taxpayers remain on the route. For all of them, the decision has fatal consequences. It could usher in the final demise of the group.
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Kerkhoff had argued with good arguments against a complete sale of the elevator division. He only wanted to make a minority stake in a strategic investor. He wanted to use the money from the partial sale and the annual income from the globally growing elevator business to rehabilitate the ailing group and offer the approximately 160,000 employees a perspective for the next few years. It would have been an arduous journey, but one with destination.
But nothing will come of that now. With the departure of Kerkhoff the complete sale of the elevator division should be decided thing. With the billions could be settled a few debts and the desired special dividend to be distributed. What would be left behind was a barely viable company, the ruin of what once was ThyssenKrupp. A rest lamp, which should have considerable problems in the next economic downturn.
Excluding the elevator business, the Group lacked steady revenue to offset the cyclical steel business during economic downturns. And in the foreseeable future, there was also no money to pay the oppressive pension costs for tens of generations of steel workers. For many years, the taxpayer would have to step in. Cevian is already out long ago.
