Fujitsu is to acquire Siemens' 50% stake in the
Fujitsu Siemens Computers joint venture for £360m.
The deal will be completed on 1 April 2009, subject to the
approval of government agencies.
There will now be fears that Tokyo-based Fujitsu will wield the
jobs axe in Europe with its new free reign of the company. Siemens
itself will see the deal as a way of reducing its operating costs,
as it continues to divest itself of businesses that are not seen as
key to the group during a recession.
Fujitsu Siemens Computers was established in October 1999 and
has a foothold in the EMEA market for IT infrastructure, covering
servers, PCs and data storage.
"Fully integrating Fujitsu Siemens Computers into the Fujitsu
Group fits perfectly into our global growth strategy," said Kuniaki
Nozoe, president of Fujitsu. "We are inheriting a strong customer
base in EMEA and an R&D capability that can support our global
products development."
Joe Kaeser, Siemens's chief financial officer, said, "We
continue to focus our company on the strategic sectors of energy,
industry and healthcare."
Fujitsu and Siemens also announced that the CEO and president of
Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Bernd Bischoff, has resigned "for
personal reasons". Kai Flore, chief financial officer of Fujitsu
Siemens Computers, has been appointed the new CEO and president of
the company.