why i think siemens may be the one to buy out cree. (they bought square "D" out from under me about 10 years ago. see below rocky
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SI: StockTalk: Communications : Siemens
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To:elmatador who started this subject
From: elmatador Tuesday, Mar 13, 2001 9:33 AM
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Siemens lists in New York - A milestone in the Ten-Point Program
Pierer: 'The U.S. market is Siemens' top priority. Our U.S. business will be a jewel in our worldwide operations.'
Siemens' New York listing is a milestone in its Ten-Point Program. On Monday, Supervisory Board Chairman Dr. Karl-Hermann Baumann, President and CEO Dr. Heinrich v. Pierer, and CFO Heinz-Joachim Neubürger opened trading on the world's largest stock exchange, symbolically purchasing the first 100 shares. "The listing of the Siemens share in New York is the logical consequence of the company's globalization drive," said Pierer. By listing on the New York Stock Exchange, the company aims to underscore the importance of the U.S. for its business and to gain a further acquisition currency for potential investments. The U.S. is Siemens' most important market, with sales soon totaling $25 billion and some 90,000 employees. The company is also driving its top+ U.S. Business Initiative to reorganize its business operations and boost profitability in the country. In the future, all of Siemens' U.S. activities will make a significantly greater contribution to company earnings. In Pierer's words: "Our U.S. business will be a jewel in our worldwide operations."
The listing of the Siemens share on the New York Stock Exchange is a milestone in the company's Ten-Point Program. In the summer of 1998, Siemens began implementing a series of measures designed to transform its portfolio, management instruments (business excellence under the top+ program) and financial and capital instruments. The Ten-Point Program, which has since been aggressively implemented, continues to provide the basis for all strategic and management tasks in the company. As Pierer explains, "We are a living organism and are pushing the transformation with our proven methods."
Pierer called the listing a highlight in the company's continued efforts to build up its U.S. activities. Siemens has become a true American company - with more U.S. employees than corporations like Intel or Cisco. It is also the biggest foreign investor in the U.S in the field of electrical engineering and electronics. The company will soon have sales of $25 billion and around 90,000 employees in America. Last fiscal year (October 1, 1999 to September 30, 2000), Siemens' U.S. companies, with some 76,000 employees, had sales of more than $16 billion, accounting for 22% of the company's worldwide sales. For the first time, new orders in the U.S., at $18.5 billion, exceeded those in Germany. Siemens boasts roughly 700 locations in the U.S., including nearly 100 production facilities.
The CEO pointed out that within only a few years the lineup of Siemens' markets will be: U.S. Number 1, Germany Number 2 and China Number 3. Asia currently accounts for 13 percent of the company's business, with China as the region's most important market; the U.S. generates 22 percent; Germany contributes 24 percent, and Europe (excluding Germany), 31 percent. While Siemens anticipates continued growth in Germany and elsewhere throughout Europe, market share is clearly shifting toward Asia and the Americas. "The electrical engineering and electronics market in the U.S. is seven times larger than in Germany. Siemens must play a leading role in this market if it doesn't want to miss a tremendous opportunity," said Pierer, adding that the U.S. is a core country for innovations, particularly in telecommunications and information technology. With 7,000 patents and R&D investments totaling some $800 million, Siemens is a key player in research and development in the U.S.
The top+ U.S. Business Initiative - headed by Prof. Peter Probilla of Siemens' Corporate Executive Committee, the head of Siemens Corporation Gerhard Schulmeyer, and Schulmeyer's Chief Operating Officer and designated successor Klaus Kleinfeld - has been launched to reorganize business operations and boost profitability in the U.S. The initiative has two thrusts: First, to optimize the portfolio of operating companies and improve their performance; and second, to give Siemens Corporation additional cross-Group tasks to make the company as a whole more effective in the U.S. These tasks include:
- Coordinating cross-Group business opportunities through the systematic development of a corporate account management program. During the first stage, fifteen key accounts will be centrally supported. Complete end-to-end solutions will be offered for three areas - airports, universities and stadiums.
- Raising the profile of the Siemens brand and improving the company's brand image.
- Coordinating management development and creating a unified recruiting strategy.
- Developing and carrying out shared services for Siemens' operating companies - in purchasing and accounting, for example.
- Optimizing the yield from and use of the company's U.S. real estate.
- Coordinating the operating companies' e-business activities as Siemens transforms itself into a true e-company.
At a week-long meeting in the U.S., Siemens' Corporate Executive Committee analyzed the performance of more than 100 business fields. It was determined that roughly three-quarters of the company's U.S. business activities are in solid positions and have excellent chances to continue to improve their performance. Siemens was found to be especially strong in its Power, Medical and Lighting segments. Automation and Control is also making solid progress, with major opportunities ahead in not only factory and process automation but also logistics automation and building technologies. Automotive and Transportation are also both firmly anchored in the U.S. market, and the company is gaining more and more ground in Information and Communications.
However, said Pierer, one quarter of Siemens' businesses in the U.S. could not continue in their present condition. In some cases, it would be necessary to build up market share in order to reach critical mass. In others, withdrawal from the business is a possibility. Noting that progress will again be monitored early this summer, the CEO stated that it is imperative for all U.S. activities to increase their earnings substantially.
Siemens' decision to list on the New York Stock Exchange reflects the importance of the company's U.S. business. "It is a must to be traded on the world's largest stock exchange, along with our competitors," said Pierer, adding that the listing would also give the company an additional currency for potential acquisitions and strategic investments, which are often paid for in stock.
Since 1998, Siemens has spent nearly $8 billion on U.S. acquisitions. These include the conventional power business of Westinghouse, startups bundled in the Internet subsidiary Unisphere, the IT service provider Entex, the medical service provider Shared Medical Systems, the ultrasound systems manufacturer Acuson, and Moore and Milltronics in the field of process automation. This $8-billion figure also includes the current takeover bid for Efficient Networks, a manufacturer of high-speed Internet access equipment.
Pierer noted that Siemens chose the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) rather than Nasdaq because nearly all of its direct competitors are listed on the NYSE. Nasdaq - often considered the market for "high-growth" companies - is primarily attractive to small and medium-sized companies with strong growth rates and levels of profitability that are often still very low. In Pierer's words: "Siemens is a company characterized by technology-driven growth businesses coupled with the well-established structures and experience that come from more than 150 years of corporate history - in other words, by New Economy with substance."
The current listing does not represent Siemens' first move into the U.S. securities market. Some 13% of Siemens' capital is already in the hands of American investors, mainly large institutional shareholders. Five years ago, the figure was only around 7%. Just over half of the company's capital is held by German shareholders.
Siemens is not issuing any new stock especially for the U.S. stock market. Instead, Siemens shares will be listed in the U.S. as American Depositary Receipts (ADR). In the U.S. a "Level II" ADR counts as a registered U.S. equity and is therefore available to all investors for acquisition. ADRs are issued by a custodian bank which holds a company's home market shares on deposit and distributes ADRs in the place of local shares. At Level II, a company meets the same SEC and stock exchange requirements with regard to financial reporting and transparency that must be met by U.S. companies. ADRs may therefore be used as fully valid investment instruments and as an acquisition currency.
Siemens began doing business in the U.S. in the middle of the 19th century. However, the company pulled out of the country in 1894 after its factory in Chicago was destroyed by fire. The first official Siemens sales office in the U.S. after World War II opened in 1954. Located in the Empire State Building, the office focused primarily on medical engineering. In 1960, Siemens posted U.S. sales of DM30 million. Ten years later, Siemens Corporation was founded as a holding company for Siemens' U.S. operating companies, which today number more than 30. In 1973, Siemens opened its first factory to produce telephone equipment in New Jersey. The company's continued growth has been partly organic and partly the result of numerous acquisitions as Siemens began to expand its U.S. operations in the 1980s to cover the entire range of its offerings. In addition to the recent acquisitions mentioned above, major investments have included: Bendix Electronics Group, an automotive supplier, in 1988; Stromberg Carlson, a manufacturer of switching technology equipment, in 1990; Rolm, a manufacturer of communications systems, fully acquired in 1992 after a joint venture with IBM; and lighting manufacturer Sylvania, in 1993. Pierer: "Following the phase of exponential growth, we are now in the process of bringing U.S. profitability up to the Siemens-wide level. Our U.S. business will be a jewel in our worldwide operations."
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SI: SIEMENS AG ADS(NYSE) Tuesday, Mar 20, 2001 8:02 AM ET
Symbol Last Time Change
1Dy 1Wk 1Mo 6Mo 2Yr
SI 4:00 PM 103.40 0.00 0.00%
Prev Close Open High Low Volume
103.40 0.00 0.00 0.00 0
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0.00 0.00 Up 175,000 101.20 - 172.50
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