ThyssenKrupp Preparing $1 Billion Capital Raising

German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp is planning to raise capital of about €790 million in September, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said on Friday. A spokesman for the company, which is reeling from losses at the Steel Americas unit it is trying to sell, told Reuters there was currently no decision or any concrete plan to increase capital.

The newspaper, which cited no sources, said a banking consortium was assisting the steelmaker with the capital measure, which should help fix the ratio of its equity to its level of debt.

Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger said in May ThyssenKrupp could not rule out a capital increase in the next six to nine months and that management would make a decision on the matter after the planned sale of Steel Americas.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on June 28 that RAG, a state-owned trust which controls chemicals maker Evonik, could buy shares in ThyssenKrupp as part of a possible capital increase at the steelmaker.

The Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, also known as the Krupp Foundation, has a 25.3% stake in Thyssen and has been a guardian of its independence but analysts have said it is unlikely to take part in a capital increase.

There had been speculation that if the Krupp Foundation lost its blocking minority, Thyssen could become a takeover target.