Marconi nurtures US growth
news.bbc.co.uk
Marconi has loosened its century-old ties with Britain by announcing it is to list in the US, where it is winning an increasing share of its business.
Marconi will within the next two weeks list its shares on Nasdaq, the IT-heavy US exchange, in a bid to boost the firm's credentials as a globally-orientated leader in telecoms technology, chief executive George Simpson said.
The move follows a shake-up under Lord Simpson who has described the firm, which can trace its history back more than 100 years, as a "big start up".
Since he took charge in 1997, Marconi has sold its defence electronics arm, changed its name from GEC, and focused on the growing international market for high-capacity telecoms networks.
US growth
The firm now makes more than 40% of its sales in the US, where it employs 17,000 people, the same number as in the UK.
But the company denied to BBC News Online any plans to move headquarters operations from London, where the firm will still retain its primary stock listing.
Lord Simpson said: "This [Nasdaq listing] is a very significant moment for Marconi... it will mark the next step in the development of Marconi as a leading global broadband communications equipment supplier.
Other European technology firms listed on both home and US exchanges include Ericsson, Nokia and Alcatel.
Staff bonus
Company spokesman Alasdair Jeffrey told BBC News Online. "The listing on Nasdaq reflects that. It will enable employees and others interested in the company to have a quote in dollars to follow."
Staff have been promised large bonuses when the company's stock passes £16.03. Marconi shares closed 10p up at 930p on Friday in London.
Lord Simpson made the announcement as he revealed an order book of £3.3bn, against £2.7bn at the same time last year.
Sales of optical network equipment, designed to allow fast and high-capacity communications, have risen by more than 50%, driven by rapid growth in internet use.
Internet traffic doubles every 100 days in the US, and every 150 days in Europe, Marconi said in July.
Profits from the sales growth will offset higher than expected marketing costs and a £40m investment in US laboratories, the company said.
Factory sell off
The announcement comes the day after Marconi announced it was selling off its commodity manufacturing arms, including factories in Coventry, Liverpool, Germany, Italy and Texas, to concentrate on its telecoms activities.
While the businesses employ 2,900 people Marconi, which said the disposals would help it concentrate on its core telecoms markets, said that compulsory redundancies were not an issue.
The company has roots in the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company set up in 1897 by Guglielmo Marconi, who pioneered wireless communication, exploiting radio waves rather than telephone cables.
The firm was taken over in 1946 by English Electric, which was swallowed up 22 years later by General Electric Company (GEC), which itself dates back to 1886. |
