Siemens sells mobile-phone unit

The business will be headquartered in Munich. The closing of the deal is expected in the fourth quarter of Siemens’ fiscal year 2005. We will be uniting our strengths with BenQ’s highly successful consumer business. In addition, we also complement one another perfectly in terms of geography. This will give BenQ, which up until now has been very strong in Asia, access to the European and Latin American markets where we hold leading positions,” said Klaus Kleinfeld, the CEO of Siemens AG. Siemens will invest in BenQ by purchasing shares of the company. In addition, the transaction also includes the rights to the brand and name, which BenQ will be allowed to use for a total of five years. BenQ Chairman & CEO K.Y. Lee: “With the acquisition of Siemens’s mobile phones business, we are rapidly approaching our goal to become one of the world’s leading players in the mobile phone industry. Our expansion strategy will be strongly supported by this deal, as we can rely on a global organization with excellent employees, a well-established blue-chip customer base in the mobile business and a strong brand with high impact. In the course of the transaction, Siemens will acquire new BenQ shares worth EUR 50 million and will be building upon BenQ as a preferred partner for end-to-end mobile communication solutions.