German industrial giant seeks Cobb tax breaks

FILE: DUISBURG, GERMANY - JANUARY 17: General view of the storage area of galvanized coiled steel following manufacture at ThyssenKrupp steelworks on January 17, 2018 in Duisburg, Germany. ThyssenKrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger is seeking to merge the company's steel making unit with Tata Steel of India. The German economy grew 2.2 percent in 2017, its biggest growth rate since 2011. Economists see a strong outlook for 2018. (Photo by Lukas Schulze/Getty Images)

Credit: Lukas Schulze

Credit: Lukas Schulze

FILE: DUISBURG, GERMANY - JANUARY 17: General view of the storage area of galvanized coiled steel following manufacture at ThyssenKrupp steelworks on January 17, 2018 in Duisburg, Germany. ThyssenKrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger is seeking to merge the company's steel making unit with Tata Steel of India. The German economy grew 2.2 percent in 2017, its biggest growth rate since 2011. Economists see a strong outlook for 2018. (Photo by Lukas Schulze/Getty Images)

The mystery company seeking Cobb tax breaks in a proposed deal known as "Project Dashboard" was revealed Tuesday as the German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp.

The company is considering locating a research and development facility in the Cumberland area of Cobb County. It could bring as many as 863 new jobs with an average annual salary of $100,000, according to Nelson Geter, the executive director of the Cobb Development Authority.

In exchange, the authority approved a $264 million “bond-for-title” transaction whereby it would temporarily take over the title for the property and Thyssenkrupp would receive tax breaks for the next ten years.

Thyssenkrupp is expected to make a decision by the end of the third quarter.

The conglomerate is Germany’s biggest steel company and has built everything from elevators to submarines. Geter said he could not disclose which division is eyeing Cobb.

Recently, Thyssenkrupp leaders have expressed concern about the fallout of U.S. steel tariffs.

Geter said the authority has not discussed the tariffs as they may pertain to the deal.

“The company has a stellar reputation, so we don’t have any concerns,” he said.

If Thyssenkrupp chooses Cobb for its facility, the bond-for-title deal would have to be approved by the Board of Tax Assessors and be validated in Superior Court.