German engineering and steel conglomerate ThyssenKrupp announced late on Wednesday plans to sell all of its remaining 49.48 million treasure shares accrued from its 2006 and 2008 buyback programmes. The share sale, which would generate €1.7bn based on Wednesday’s closing share price, will assist the company in paying off part of its €6.5bn debt.

The placement of treasury stock will also assist in strengthening the group’s equity and providing more financial flexibility.

According to a company statement the sale will be carried out through an “accelerated book building process”, in which the shares are offered to institutional investors under the management of Commerzbank AG, Deutsche Bank AG and HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG.