["Siemens has pledged to catch up with international competitors such as Nokia in the area of mobile phones." ]

By Uta Harnischfeger, Frankfurt -- "Siemens, the German electronics and engineering group, will pay roughly E100m ($96.5m) in cash for the telephone-making unit of German engineering group Robert Bosch, a person familiar with the companies said.

"Heinrich von Pierer, Siemens chairman, confirmed on Monday that the talks between Siemens and Bosch had entered "a very advanced stage". According to Mr Pierer, Siemens will take over Bosch's development and engineering capacities, while a third party would buy Bosch's production facilities.

"We do not want to take over the factory . . . and Bosch is looking for a buyer," said Mr Pierer. Bosch wants to finalise the deal for its factory before any further announcement.

"In December, the two firms had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding.

"As part of its pledge to be in the top three worldwide players in all its divisions, Siemens has pledged to catch up with international competitors such as Nokia in the area of mobile phones.

More...

Back to Headlines...