[Fábio G.]

Financial Times:

ThyssenKrupp seizes control of submarine maker
By Gordon Smith in London
Published: May 17 2004

ThyssenKrupp, the German steel conglomerate, has seized control of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, the German submarine maker, after signing an agreement with a US private equity firm.

Under the terms of the deal, ThyssenKrupp will pay One Equity Partners (OEP) €240m ($288.6m) for a 75 per cent stake of the new company. The US private equity firm will own the remaining 25 per cent stake of the group which will be merged with Thyssen's existing shipbuilding operations.

ThyssenKrupp said the new group would be a European leader in the construction of conventional submarines and surface naval vessels with a turnover of €2.2bn and a workforce of 9,300.

OEP sparked a political row in Germany when it bought 75 per cent of HDW in June 2002 from engineering group Babcock Borsig. The Chicago-based investment group bought the remaining 25 per cent in September 2002 amid concerns from German politicians that the country's defence capabilities were being undermined by ownership being moved overseas.

HDW has been at the centre of takeover speculation for months after ThyssenKrupp launched a bid last August backed by the German government, which was determined to return the group to German ownership.

But the French government was also keen to own HDW and proposed a deal that would have seen Thales, the defence contractor, own a majority stake in the company under a German-French ownership model.

Both countries are keen to see a European defence group emerge in the naval defence sector on a par with EADS, the aerospace defence group.

ThyssenKrupp shares fell 1.53 per cent to €12.84 in mid-morning trading in Frankfurt.

[Fábio G.]

Defensa:

LAS ALEMANAS THYSSENKRUPP Y HDW SE FUSIONARÁN PARA CREAR UN GIGANTE EUROPEO NAVAL.

El consorcio industrial alemán ThyssenKrupp y los astilleros alemanes HDW, propiedad del fondo de inversión de Estados Unidos One Equity Partners (OEP), han anunciado la intención de fusionarse en julio, después de varios años de negociaciones. Esta unión de dos grandes del sector naval alemán daría como resultado la creación de un gigante europeo en el sector, similar a lo que significa EADS para la industria aeronáutica. La nueva empresa sería capaz de competir con los gigantes asiáticos del sector y tendría una plantilla de 9.300 empleados y un volumen de negocio de 2.200 millones de euros