FRANKFURT (Reuters) - ThyssenKrupp (DE:TKAG) would consider a sale of the group's military submarine business under certain conditions, the German steel maker's chief executive told daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
"The precondition for any talks would be an offer that reflects the value of the business," the paper quoted Heinrich Hiesinger as saying. "This can't be based on a purely political decision or merely on another company's wishes."
Hiesinger added the group was under no pressure to sell because the shipyard was profitable and had an order backlog that would last for the next few years.
Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters in September that ThyssenKrupp had started approaching potential buyers for its submarine unit, including French peer DCNS.
Weekly Wirtschaftswoche reported last month that German tank manufacturer Rheinmetall (DE:RHMG) was close to buying ThyssenKrupp's Marine Systems business, whose main product is submarines.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Saturday that Rheinmetall was trying to line up a group of banks to fund a bid for Thyssen's submarines unit. Rheinmetall was not immediately available to comment outside regular business hours.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Susan Thomas)