ThyssenKrupp rethinks Blohm+Voss plans

ThyssenKrupp AG said Friday that restructuring of its ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems is largely complete. But it also revealed that it will not proceed with the planned the sale of the civil shipbuilding business of Blohm+Voss and HDW to the Abu Dhabi MAR group (combined with a military surface vessel joint venture with Blohm+Voss Naval).

“Following two years of amicable talks and negotiations exploring the joint-venture both ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Abu Dhabi MAR have agreed to cease their efforts to form the envisaged joint-venture around the naval and non-naval shipbuilding business of Blohm+Voss in Hamburg,” said a statement released Friday. “Both parties believe that the commercial drivers for the transaction have weakened to a point that opportunities previously identified are no longer commercially viable.”

The scope of the originally envisaged transaction between the two parties will now relate exclusively to the civil activities of HDW-Gaarden in Kiel.

ThyssenKrupp AG said that a €2.0 billion order for six U 214 submarine material packages placed by the Republic of Turkey has entered into force with receipt of the advance payment and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems can now begin executing the order. The order will contribute to securing employment at HDW in Kiel, as well as at many subcontractors in Germany and Turkey, for the next ten years.

“The comprehensive solution achieved in October 2010 for Hellenic Shipyards, under which Privinvest Shipbuilding, a major shareholder of Abu Dhabi MAR, acquired 75.1% of the company’s shares from us, can also be seen as a milestone for the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems group,” said Friday’s statement.” ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems was able to secure the acceptance of the first U-214 submarine for the Greek Navy and the payment of outstanding debts. As part of the agreement an option was granted for an order for two further submarines at Hellenic Shipyards/HDW. All parties are eager, provided the solid commitment which the Hellenic authorities have promised, to have this order successfully implemented.”

The naval surface ship business under the brand name MEKO has been restructured in Blohm+Voss Naval GmbH, founded this year with two sites at Hamburg and Emden. Blohm+Voss Naval GmbH is a highly efficient unit with around 500 employees, specialized in supplying engineering, procurement and project management for complex naval surface vessels in cooperation with different manufacturing sites in Germany and abroad. This, says ThyssenKrupp, is in line with the expectations of many export customers: Engineering from Germany, manufacturing in the country of the purchaser.

ThyssenKrupp says it is 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.”

In line with the strategic development program resolved on May 13, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems will concentrate in the future on military shipbuilding. This involves its high-tech capacities for submarine system integration at HDW in Kiel and Kockums in Sweden as well as its design, equipment and project management capabilities for military surface vessels at Blohm+Voss Naval in Hamburg.

July 3, 2011