FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Thyssenkrupp expects to decide on a possible initial public offering (IPO) of its hydrogen division Nucera in the first half of 2022, CEO Martina Merz said on Monday, sounding a slightly more cautious tone on the timing.
Merz, in remarks prepared for the group's annual general meeting later this week, said an IPO of the unit remained the preferred option as it would highlight its value and raise Thyssenkrupp (DE:TKAG)'s profile as a player in the hydrogen sector.
"Our preferred solution is to go public with part of the business while remaining majority owner, in order to benefit from the growth prospects of the business," Merz said in speech notes ahead of Thyssenkrupp's annual general meeting on Feb. 4.
Merz had said in November that a listing of the division, which supplies electrolyser technology and is valued between 3 billion to 6 billion euros ($3.4 billion to $6.5 billion), could take place in spring.
Monday's remarks come less than three weeks after Thyssenkrupp hosted a capital markets day for Nucera, a 66-34 joint venture with Italy's De Nora, and said it aimed for primary IPO proceeds of up to 600 million euros.
Thyssenkrupp Nucera is the world's top supplier of chlor-alkali membrane technologies needed to produce hydrogen. It competes with Japan's Asahi Kasei, China's Bluestar Beijing Chemical Machinery and Britain's chemicals group Ineos.
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