AFP - Industrial giant Siemens plans to list more than half its lighting unit Osram on the stock market later this year, it said Tuesday in what is set be the biggest German initial public offer (IPO) in years.
The group is also gearing up for a reorientation of activities that will add a fourth division, focused on making cities more energy efficient, and help it reach for a medium-term annual sales target of 100 billion euros ($141 billion).
"We expect to become a minority shareholder and spin Osram off as soon as it is listed on the stock exchange," Siemens finance director Joe Kaeser told a telephone new conference.
Siemens announced late Monday that it would sell most of Osram but remain "a long-term anchor shareholder."
"The definition of a reference shareholder does not depend on the percentage of the holding," Kaeser stressed Tuesday, adding that Siemens would retain at least a "qualified minority" in Osram, but without providing details.
That could mean for example a stake of 25 percent plus one share, which would allow Siemens to weigh on strategic decisions.
With an estimated total value of 4.7 billion euros for Osram, the IPO is set to be the biggest in years in Germany.
Meanwhile, Siemens said Monday that it would also create a new division dubbed Infrastructure & Cities, its fourth pole of activity alongside Industry, Energy and Medical Equipment.
The new unit is to begin operations in October and focus on "integrating technologies and providing tailored energy efficiency solutions for private and public infrastructures - such as intelligent building networks and integrated mobility solutions."
Siemens estimated the Cities market at around 300 billion euros, while chief executive officer Peter Loescher said Tuesday his group aimed for overall "medium-term sales of 100 billion euros."
In its last fiscal year, the industrial giant posted annual sales of a little more than 75 billion euros.
The decision to sell most of Osram would give it "full entrepreneurial freedom to secure and further expand its leading position in a lighting market being swept by technological change," a statement said.
Based like Siemens in Munich, southern Germany, Osram makes traditional bulbs and high tech products like LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes).
Although it is very profitable, the company's focus on consumer products is at odds with Loescher's strategy of orienting Siemens towards industrial clients.
Osram, which employs 40,000 people worldwide, also needs major investments to complete the transformation of its operations to LED technology.
Loescher has already transformed Siemens since he was hired in 2007 following a huge scandal that saw the group admit to paying around 1.3 billion euros in bribes over a period of several years to land lucrative contracts.
The sprawling conglomerate manufactures a vast range of products from household appliances to nuclear reactors, high-speed trains and wind turbines.
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