ESSEN (dpa-AFX) - The supervisory board of the industrial group Thyssenkrupp approved a 20 percent stake in the steel division by the energy company EPCG on Thursday. The decision was made with the second vote of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board against the votes of the employee representatives, as Thyssenkrupp announced. The Executive Board had reached an agreement in principle with EPCG at the end of April.

The EPCG holding company is owned by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. The strategic partnership will primarily focus on energy supplies. EPCG's stake is to be increased to 50 percent in the future and the steel division is to become independent.

"The entry of EPCG combines the leading materials know-how of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe with the energy expertise of EPCG," it said. The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the current financial year. "The strategic partnership with EPCG is an important step towards ensuring resilient, cost-efficient and climate-friendly steel production at Thyssenkrupp Steel - and thus also a significant contribution to safeguarding the steel industry in Germany," Thyssenkrupp added.

The Thyssenkrupp Steel division is Germany's largest steel company. Around 27,000 people work there.

Prior to the meeting, several thousand employees had demonstrated at midday for more say and transparency in important company decisions. IG Metall had criticized the fact that it knew too little about the planned acquisition of EPCG for the Supervisory Board to be able to approve it./tob/DP/he