The son of German billionaire Adolf Merckle has broken his family's silence since his father's suicide to fire the starting shot on the break-up of one of the country's biggest industrial empires. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Ludwig Merckle signalled that there would be no sacred cows as the group grappled to pay off its debts.
Adolf Merckle, one of Germany's wealthiest men and best-known industrialists, killed himself in January after losing heavily on the stock market. He left an empire spanning HeidelbergCement, generics drugmaker Ratiopharm and drug wholesaler Phoenix. It is a group, however, that is hobbled by debt and effectively controlled by the banks that lent it money.
On Wednesday, Merckle's eldest son said that there were potential buyers interested in all parts of the group. "There is a keen interest from all types of investors in Ratiopharm and also for other companies in the group," Merckle said in a written reply to Reuters.
Merckle also said private equity investors were eyeing a stake in HeidelbergCement, which is itself struggling with loans taken to buy British rival Hanson. Sources have told Reuters that Goldman Sachs and private equity firms TPG and Bain Capital are examining whether to take control of the world's fourth-biggest cement maker.