TK Axles Shares Open at €27.80 After 49% Stake Distributed to Shareholders
Key Facts
TK Axles shares began trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on October 28 at an initial price of €27.80, separating its materials and services trading business from thyssenkrupp operationally. This was not an offering price: the group distributed a stake in the company to its shareholders as part of the separation. According to thyssenkrupp, shareholders received 49% of TK Axles shares, while the group retained a 51% majority stake. Under this arrangement, the company began trading as an operationally independent entity, while control remained with its parent. CEO Miguel López said the listing marked an important step in thyssenkrupp’s transformation from an industrial conglomerate into a financial holding company.
The stock rose from its opening price to €30 by 12:10 GMT on the day of the listing, according to Reuters. Reuters valued TK Axles at €1.9 billion at the start of trading. The agency described the listing as Germany’s largest up to that point in 2026. But the combined value of thyssenkrupp shareholders’ holdings, after accounting for the distributed shares, fell by more than 6% compared with the group’s closing price on the Tuesday before the listing. The move shows that the market’s reaction to the new company was reflected not only in its share price, but also in the total value held by the parent company’s shareholders.
TK Axles generated €11.4 billion in sales in fiscal year 2024/2025 and recorded adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of €132 million. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin was 2% in that fiscal year, according to Reuters. The company is targeting a margin of between 4% and 5% in the medium term, alongside annual sales growth of more than 4%. The company says expanding higher-margin activities, growing in North America and efficiency measures are the levers it is counting on to achieve its targets. These targets indicate the gap between its reported profitability and its stated goal for the coming period.
thyssenkrupp describes the business’s development as a shift from a traditional materials distributor to a supply chain services provider, with a focus on “materials as a service.” The vision includes processing services and digital supply chain management, according to the group’s statement. TK Axles says the global materials and supply chain market could grow from around €800 billion in 2024 to around €1,000 billion by 2030. That equates, according to the company’s estimate, to annual growth of around 4% between 2024 and 2030. The company bases its growth opportunity on this expected market expansion, as well as its efforts to increase higher-margin activities.
The separation is part of a strategic repositioning that thyssenkrupp said aims to turn the group into a financial holding company comprising strong, independent businesses in which it retains majority stakes. The listing gives TK Axles operational independence and greater flexibility, according to the company’s statement, to invest capital in higher-margin growth areas. thyssenkrupp’s extraordinary general meeting approved the separation by a large majority on August 7, 2026. The distribution of shares to shareholders then enabled the separation while leaving the group with the largest stake. The structure combines the subsidiary’s independent trading with the continuation of its strategic ties to its parent company.