flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

The bidding war for Thyssenkrupp’s elevator technology business just got hotter

Building Technology

The bidding war for Thyssenkrupp’s elevator technology business just got hotter

Engineering firm Kone Oyj raises the ante and joins three other suitor groups that have made multibillion dollar offers.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | January 31, 2020

This cutaway shows MULTI, Thyssenkrupp's innovative sideways elevator system, which it introduced in 2017. Thyssenkrupp is considering several bids for its Elevator Technology business unit. Image: Thyssenkrupp

Last May, Germany based Thyssenkrupp decided to divide itself into two separate companies as part of a major restructuring effort. That strategy called for spinning off its profitable Elevator Technology business unit via an Initial Public Offering or by putting that unit up for sale.

Elevator Technology, in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2019, generated 907 million Euro (US$1 billion) in cash flow from 7.96 billion Euro in net sales, both up around 5% from the previous year. Thyssenkrupp’s total revenue, just under 42 billion Euro, was up only 1%, and the company reported a 260 million Euro net loss on top of a 12 million Euro loss the previous fiscal year.

Thyssenkrupp, as a corporation, is also groaning under 8.5 billion Euro in pension obligations and 5.1 billion Euro in net debt.

The Elevator Technology unit—which made waves a few years ago with MULTI, the industry’s first sideways-moving elevator transport system—has since drawn interest from at least four investor groups, including one that includes Finnish engineering firm Kone Oyj and CVC Capital Partners, which last week reportedly made a non-binding offer of 17 billion Euro. Bloomberg reports that Kone gave Thyssenkrupp the option of receiving all cash or a combination of cash and stock for the elevator business. And to mollify regulators over any antitrust issues, Kone said it would hand the Elevator Technology operations in Europe to CVC.

Last year, regulators scotched Thyssenkrupp’s attempt to forge a joint venture between its Steel Europe business unit and Tata Steel Ltd.

Last November, Reuters reported that Kone proposed paying Thyssenkrupp a multibillion-euro breakup fee (reportedly the equivalent of US$3.3 billion) to improve its position in the company’s auction of its elevator unit.

The other investor groups vying to acquire Thyssenkrupp’s Elevator Technology unit reportedly include a consortium of Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Advent International, Cinven and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority form another investor group. And Brookfield Asset Management partnered with Temasek Holdings Pte to bid. These offers reportedly were all under 16 billion Euro, but suitors will have the opportunity to adjust their bids next month.

Thyssenkrupp has also disclosed that it plans to put its plant-building unit—which makes chemicals, cement, and fertilizer plants—on the auction block, possibly selling the division in parts.

Related Stories

| Aug 11, 2010

Sika Sarnafil launches sustainable roofing resource website SustainabilityThatPays.com

Sika Sarnafil, the worldwide market leader in thermoplastic roofing and waterproofing membranes, today launched a new web site dedicated to supporting sustainability principals and environmentally responsible building. The streamlined site, SustainabilityThatPays.com &http://www.SustainabilityThatPays.com>  provides the building owner with critical information on selecting roofing and waterproofing systems...

| Aug 11, 2010

Prism-shaped design unveiled for five-star hotel in Saudi Arabia

Goettsch Partners has been commissioned by Saudi Oger Ltd. to design a new five-star, 214-key business hotel in the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As a design-build assignment, Saudi Oger is serving as the contractor, selected by developer Rayadah Investment Company. The project is sited on Parcel 1.08, one of the first 10 parcels currently under development in the massive new master-planned district.

| Aug 11, 2010

Data center construction costs are down, according to a study by Environmental Systems Design

The current economic crisis has an up-side for owners of mission-critical facilities: On average, it costs less today to construct a new data center than it did in late 2007, according to a study by Environmental Systems Design (ESD). ESD found that the prices of feeder and cable have dropped by more than half, major data center equipment by 12%, labor and materials by 19.6%, and shipping and handling by 15% from the fourth quarter of 2007 to July 15, 2009.

| Aug 11, 2010

9 rooftop photovoltaic installation tips

The popularity of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels has exploded during the past decade as Building Teams look to maximize building energy efficiency, implement renewable energy measures, and achieve green building certification for their projects. However, installing rooftop PV systems—rack-mounted, roof-bearing, or fully integrated systems—requires careful consideration to avoid damaging the roof system.

| Aug 11, 2010

USGBC’s Greenbuild 2009 brings global ideas to local main streets

Save the planet with indigenous knowledge. Make permanent water part of your life. Dive deep water for clues to environmental success.  Connect site selection to successful creative concepting. Explore the unknown with Discovery Channel’s best known guide. These are but a few of the big ideas participants can connect to at USGBC’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, taking place on November 11-13, 2009 in Phoenix, Ariz.

| Aug 11, 2010

ASHRAE introduces building energy label prototype

Most of us know the fuel efficiency of our cars, but what about our buildings? ASHRAE is working to change that, moving one step closer today to introducing its building energy labeling program with release of a prototype label at its 2009 Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Engineers

Navigating battery energy storage augmentation

By implementing an augmentation plan upfront, owners can minimize potential delays and unforeseen costs when augmentation needs to occur, according to Burns & McDonnell energy storage technology manager Joshua Crawford.


3D Printing

3D-printed construction milestones take shape in Tennessee and Texas

Two notable 3D-printed projects mark milestones in the new construction technique of “printing” structures with specialized concrete. In Athens, Tennessee, Walmart hired Alquist 3D to build a 20-foot-high store expansion, one of the largest freestanding 3D-printed commercial concrete structures in the U.S. In Marfa, Texas, the world’s first 3D-printed hotel is under construction at an existing hotel and campground site.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021