ThyssenKrupp nears VDM sale to Lindsay Goldberg Vogel

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  • ThyssenKrupp to sell VDM to Lindsay Goldberg Vogel: report
  • Works council chief says sale talks not concluded
  • ThyssenKrupp, Lindsay Goldberg Vogel decline comment

But the head of ThyssenKrupp’s works council said the talks were not concluded and the outcome was dependent on jobs and workplace guarantees for VDM’s staff, who have the power to block any deal. “There is no decision,” said Wilhelm Segerath.

ThyssenKrupp and Lindsay Goldberg Vogel declined to comment.

Shares in ThyssenKrupp, which is transforming itself from a steelmaker into an industrial goods supplier, closed 1.4 percent higher at 25.98 euros, and were the top gainers of the day in a flat blue-chip DAX index.

ThyssenKrupp was forced to buy back high-performance alloys unit VDM along with stainless-steel unit AST from Outokumpu last year after selling them to the Finnish steelmaker as part of a bigger deal.

The two together have a book value of over 900 million euros and are making operating losses while being restructured.

($1 = 0.9443 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Susan Thomas)