All in one night. ThyssenKrupp has just announced that the capital increase launched on Monday evening has been completed. The amount collected is 882,3 million euros. The group needed a cash injection to improve its accounts, after the disastrous investments in American steel mills.
In all, 51,5 million new shares were placed at a unit price of €17,15. And German and foreign investors rushed to buy.
The definitive price of the stock is located in the lower part of the indicative range mentioned on the eve: between 17,05 and 17,635 euros. If the operation was very rapid, this is due to the formula chosen: the capital increase took the form of an accelerated placement with institutional investors and the pre-emptive rights of those who were already shareholders were removed.
Among the major investors, there are the Cevian, Franklin and Blackrock funds which are strengthening their presence. However, it is not known whether the Krupp Foundation participated in the operation.
Currently, ThyssenKrupp is worth around 10 billion euros on the stock exchange. In Frankfurt, the stock is down more than 1% this morning after losing about 9% the day before. The group still has many problems, above all the 5 billion euro debt. The American question has been partially resolved, but now we need to tighten our belts and the next chapter to be tackled could be that of European steel mills.
The capital raised should allow the company to continue with technological research, including large industrial plants, elevators and submarines, a sector thanks to which it has just obtained a large contract in Singapore.
