The plans of ferrous recycler TSR, a subsidiary of Germany's Remondis group, and the construction and waste management company Papenburg to take over the steel producer Salzgitter are becoming more concrete. The consortium "submitted a non-binding offer to the executive board in the context of a potential takeover bid to acquire the company’s shares, citing an indicative offer price of €18.50 per share", Salzgitter AG announced on 23 January.
The indicative price represents a premium of 18 per cent compared to the previous day's closing price of €15.70. Based on a total number of issued shares of 60.1 million, the offer values the Salzgitter Group at €1.1bn.
The steel company said that it was engaging in discussion with the consortium and that it was "in the process of examining the non-binding offer, including the price indicated", underlining that the outcome of both was open.
It has been known since early November 2024 that Papenburg and TSR are jointly considering a takeover of the steel manufacturer. The aim is to acquire at least 45 per cent plus one share in Salzgitter AG. Papenburg and TSR want to strengthen their influence on the steel group and support "the transformation of Salzgitter AG towards green steel", Günter Papenburg, the owner of the eponymous company, explained at that time.
GP Günter Papenburg AG is already the largest Salzgitter shareholder with a 26.7 per cent stake in the company. It is closely followed by the German federal state of Lower Saxony, which also owns a blocking minority stake of 26.5 per cent in the steel group via its investment company Hannoversche Beteiligungsgesellschaft Niedersachsen mbH (HanBG).
The state's finance ministry told the news agency dpa on Thursday that it did not see any economic advantages in an offer. In November, Minister President Stephan Weil (SPD) had already denied there was a need to "change the shareholding structure" of Salzgitter. At that time, the state government had said it would conduct a very thorough examination of TSR and Papenburg’s announced plans to acquire economic control of Salzgitter AG as well as the associated legal and economic consequences. The government said it would especially consider the interests of employees.
Salzgitter's employee representatives are also opposed to the potential acquisition. The company's works council and the IG Metall union "stand by their view that Salzgitter AG is to ensure a sustainable future for the company and jobs without such a take-over and while maintaining its independence and co-determination", commented Hans-Jürgen Urban, deputy chairman of the steel company's supervisory board and member of IG Metall's executive board.
Salzgitter AG’s subsidiaries include Deumu (Deutsche Erz- und Metall-Union GmbH), which is active in ferrous and non-ferrous metals recycling and trading, NF metals and ferro-alloys, and steel processing. Last year, the company announced it would invest €30m into a new large-scale shredding plant.
