FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The looming solution for Thyssenkrupp's steel business gave the shares a rally on Friday. Analysts also applauded the news that Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky was joining the company.

Around midday, the shares of the industrial and steel group were the frontrunners in the friendly MDax, rising by 8.6 percent to 4.84 euros. They also made up half of the loss they had suffered in the course of the downward trend of the past two weeks. The shares of steel competitor Salzgitter recently rose by an above-average 2.8 percent in the small-cap index SDax.

Since the beginning of the year, however, Thyssenkrupp is still down around 23 percent, making the shares one of the biggest losers in the index of medium-sized German stock market companies. The situation is similar for Salzgitter with a year-to-date loss of 16 percent.

After months of negotiations, Thyssenkrupp announced that it had reached an agreement with Kretinsky that his holding company EPCG would initially take over 20 percent of the Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe division. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Negotiations are also underway to acquire a further 30 percent of the steel business. The aim is still to form a joint venture in which both partners would each hold 50 percent.

Moses Ola from the US bank JPMorgan spoke of a first step towards the desired joint venture with equal rights. The associated full entrepreneurial independence of the division would be the best way for Thyssenkrupp to increase its value, strengthen its own balance sheet and stop the outflow of cash. However, as Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe will be fully consolidated in the balance sheet by then, he does not currently expect any changes to the consensus estimates.

Morgan Stanley expert Alain Gabriel emphasized that the transaction would enable Thyssenkrupp to reduce future costs for the restructuring of the company and for the reduction of CO2 emissions. The potential future partnership would also help the Duisburg-based company to secure renewable energy in the form of hydrogen and "green" electricity. This is crucial for the decarbonization of the steel business.

The move is further proof that the company is also taking bold measures to achieve its goals, praised analyst Christian Obst from Baader Bank. If there are no new write-downs following the massive write-downs in the final quarter of 2023, the Group should receive 350 to 400 million euros from Kretinsky for the sale of the 20 percent stake. However, the pressure is now increasing to define a long-term strategy together with the new partner. Many questions remain unanswered and the way forward will not be easy./gl/nas/stk