British buyer for Blohm + Voss civilian operations?

According to German press reports, the sale of the non-military operations of Hamburg shipbuilder and repairer Blohm + Voss to a British financial investor is getting closer.

In July, parent ThyssenKrupp AG said that plans for these operations to be taken over by a joint venture with Abu Dhabi MAR would not proceed. It said then that it was working on transferring the civil operations of Blohm+Voss  in the medium term to new owners “capable of placing a stronger strategic focus on the business of these companies than ThyssenKrupp can.”(See earlier story).

Die Welt now reports that on Monday staff were told that ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems had signed a letter of intent for the sale of the Blohm + Voss civilian operations with a “European investor.” Though a ThyssenKrupp spokesperson declined to name the investor, it is widely reported to be a British entity.

ThyssenKrupp hopes to have reached a sales agreement for the affected Blohm + Voss components by the end of September after which antitrust clearances and German federal government approval must be sought.

August 9, 2011