US component manufacturer, TRW, is interested in acquiring Siemens VDO.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
A report in the Financial Times (FT) today says that TRW is considering making an offer to take over the whole company. Other US companies are also interested in the company.
Siemens announced at the end of January that it would float more than 25% of the shares in its automotive component subsidiary on the stock exchange, but that it would remain the majority shareholder. However, interest from Continental and now TRW and possibly other suppliers will put pressure on Siemens to sell of the VDO unit completely.
According to the FT, Siemens’ decision would be based on the potential purchase price and whether a complete sale would make sense for VDO. After Siemens’ experience following the sale of its mobile phone unit BenQ, Siemens would be interested in how many jobs might be lost if the company were acquired.
With sales of EUR10bn in the past fiscal year, Siemens VDO is one of the largest and most successful Siemens groups. Since being established more than 20 years ago, the automotive group has rapidly grown an average of 10% a year through organic growth and acquisitions.
The expansion of the successful and profitable, yet capital-intensive business of Siemens VDO has long been the subject of intensive discussion at Siemens. “We are convinced that a listing of Siemens VDO would be a highly attractive option for continuing to drive the further expansion of Siemens VDO. This would write a new chapter in the Siemens VDO success story and open up enormous future opportunities for the company and its employees,” said a spokesman in January.
