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Article: Hunting Hoesch: German steel.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- October 19, 1991
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IT IS rare for German firms to turn corporate raider. Yet Fried Krupp, despite its protestations to the contrary, has done just that. The Essen-based steel and engineering company recently paid DM500m ($294m) in the stockmarket for a 24.9% stake in Hoesch, its neighbour in nearby Dortmund. Krupp claims the stake is a precursor to a friendly merger. Really? it did not tell Hoesch it was buying the shares until it had done so.
If Krupp really wants a marriage of equals, this was hardly the best way to woo. Hoesch's management (lower-tier) board is livid. On October 15th one of its members, Alfred Heese, the company's personnel director, condemned Krupp's actions as ...