DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp is sticking to plans to list a minority stake in its elevator unit, the group's chief executive said on Wednesday, amid renewed speculation that Finland's Kone could bid for the division.
"We want to list a minority on the stock exchange," Guido Kerkhoff said during an event at the University of Duesseldorf.
Asked whether he would also consider a sale of the unit, valued at about 14 billion euros ($16 billion), Kerkhoff said: "There is nothing new to report."
The steel industry continues to suffer from high raw material costs and cut-throat price competition, which makes it hard for any steel producer to make money, Kerkhoff also said.
"I don't see this trend changing at the moment," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the event.
(Reporting by Chris Steitz and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Editing by Edward Taylor and Douglas Busvine)
