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Now what? 250?
I will take 200.
no such luck, even after a 1-12000000 RS, still ain't happenin
I have been through the madness of the shorts with Sunpower and Tesla. I was completely frustrated, I saw the fundamentals, corporate vision and management as strong, and yet the stocks were getting hammered weekly. How to beat the shorts? Don't panic and sell, and buy at preselected price points. But most of all, BE PATIENT, AND HAVE CONFIDENCE IN WHAT YOU SEE AND HEAR! May the force be with you.
SI$ $100 TARGET PRICE TODAY WOOHOOOOOOOOOO
Absolutely Right
Looking strong
Yes! Thanks Loving it... I want more for sure and I need to get in on MOGO
Good run up SI$ MOGO$ next
SI $100 TARGET PRICE WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Analyst was just on CNBC talking about company
Yes, those changes will have a positive effect in the short term. I think Kaaser will bring a different mindset to the company. What concerns me is that a company can only do so much as far as realignment, adjusting, cutting back etc before the reality sets in that it takes growth to fuel any long term appreciation in company value.
You are correct. Almost all employees were transitioned to a bi-weekly "lag" schedule where they will be paid the Friday AFTER the payment period ends. Those that were already being paid weekly were not effected by the change.
I think the combination of recent changes...
1) divestiture of Osram
2) the sale of its stake in NSN
3) replacing Loescher with Kaeser
4) payroll transition
...will have positive effect and the rest of this year and next looks bright
This new CEO is going to look like a genius. First of all, he was the CFO. A buddy of mine works for Siemens and he said a few months ago that he was given a notice that his pay would be delayed one week so that when he left the company, he would receive two weeks pay instead of one. (his pay statement showed only one week of pay on August 2nd, though he worked two.) What that means is that the almost 400,000 employees have had their pay deferred until they quit. (one week). Multiply the average salary times the number of employees and you will find a massive gain on the balance sheet at the end of the fiscal year. (Sep 30th). I for one will be selling the moment the earnings come out (that look good) in October. You heard it here first folks.
New Siemens CEO Promises More-Stable Course (7/3/13)
By ANTON TROIANOVSKI And FRIEDRICH GEIGER
Siemens AG scrambled to reassure investors Wednesday, with new chief executive urging patience and promising to put the German engineering giant on a more-stable course after a week in which the company issued a surprise profit warning and then fired his predecessor.
Joe Kaeser, the company's chief financial officer and newly appointed leader held a news conference in Munich, where Siemens is based, and then hosted a conference call with analysts, insisting that the company's business was fundamentally sound and that he would put it on an a better footing.
His comments came as he prepared to take the reins Wednesday from CEO Peter Löscher, who was ousted by the Siemens board after a string of financial disappointments and strategic missteps. Those missteps culminated in last week's warning that Siemens wouldn't meet its profit-margin goals, which sent its shares into a nose dive.
Mr. Löscher's exit from Siemens, whose products range from trains to medical scanners to hearing aids, represents an acknowledgment that Siemens had gone astray in pursuing fast growth in recent years while competitors retrenched amid the global downturn.
"We have been trying to achieve too much too quickly," Mr. Kaeser told analysts. "There needs to be more focus on projects, on execution, on quality and reliability."
Siemens, one of German's largest companies, said Mr. Löscher's departure was by mutual consent and was approved unanimously by the company's board. But at a company where senior-management changes are carefully choreographed, sometimes years in advance, Mr. Löscher's tumultuous exit—first announced in a terse Saturday-night news release that didn't name a successor—signaled internal divisions that have riveted Germany's business world.
A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that it was important for Siemens to return to calmer waters.
"The top priority is to calm our enterprise and to stabilize its internal organization," Mr. Kaeser said in Wednesday's news conference.
The new CEO, a three-decade Siemens veteran, asked investors for patience and promised to provide more details this fall on his vision for the company and its medium-term prospects. He said much of Siemens's business was going well, and that he would leave much of the company as is and "only change some things."
Mr. Kaeser's appointment to the top job harks back to the 166-year-old Siemens's past culture, which was disrupted by a far-reaching bribery scandal several years ago. In 2007, Mr. Löscher, an Austrian, became the first outsider to lead Siemens and showed little hesitation in challenging many of its ways.
Mr. Löscher, a former Merck & Co. executive, succeeded in repairing Siemens's reputation in the wake of the bribery scandal. But he failed to meet the ambitious financial goals he set for the group. He also presided over several major slip-ups, including delayed deliveries of high-speed trains and an ill-fated effort to connect offshore wind farms to the power grid that have led to hundreds of millions of dollars in charges.
Still, Mr. Löscher is likely to walk away with a severance payment of about €15 million, or nearly $20 million, as well as his €15 million pension, according to severance guidelines and details of his compensation published in Siemens's annual report.
Investors appeared to welcome Mr. Kaeser's appointment. In Frankfurt trading Wednesday, the company's shares rose 2.1% to €82.20 on a day that Germany's blue-chip stock index was essentially unchanged.
But some investors questioned whether Mr. Kaeser bore some responsibility for Siemens's recent mistakes. "It remains to be seen whether he will do things much differently as CEO, as after all, he's been partly responsible for the strategy pursued at present because he's been chief financial officer up until now," said Union Investment fund manager Christoph Niesel.
Releasing its quarterly earnings a day ahead of schedule, Siemens said Wednesday that its profit rose to €1.07 billion in the third quarter from €743 million a year earlier, when the cancellation of the initial public offering of Osram Licht AG led to a hefty charge.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323681904578639430562339770.html?cb=logged0.9490861555366433
Siemens Said to Approach Kaeser to Become Chief Executive (7/30/13)
By Alex Webb & Angela Maier
July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Siemens AG Chief Financial Officer Joe Kaeser is in talks with the company’s supervisory board to become chief executive and take over from Peter Loescher, according to a person familiar with the matter.
At the same time, Loescher is negotiating his exit, said the person, who asked not to be named as the talks are not public. Siemens spokesman Oliver Santen declined to comment.
The company announced on July 27 plans to replace Loescher after Europe’s biggest engineering company repeatedly missed profit targets and charges mounted for failed power and train projects. The supervisory board is scheduled to meet tomorrow to appoint a new CEO. Siemens rose as much as 2 percent to 81.07 euros in Frankfurt trading today, valuing the company at 71 billion euros ($94 billion.)
“There aren’t so many options if you look at the managing board,” said Societe Generale analyst Gael de Bray, who rates Siemens a hold. “Joe Kaeser was probably the best candidate. He’s probably more of a cost-cutter, so the portfolio streamlining efforts will likely continue and even accelerate.”
Siemens agreeed to sell its share in a six-year phone gear venture to Nokia Oyj for 1.7 billion euros earlier this month, with Kaeser leading the negotiations for the German company.
Kaeser, 56, joined Siemens in 1980, holding a series of administrative and financial jobs in a career that took him to Malaysia and California. He became chief strategy officer in 2004 before being promoted to the top finance job in 2006.
Selling Assets
Siemens also this year separated from its Osram lighting business as part of a drive to sell units with low profitability or growth prospects. Earmarked for sale are also a water business and units offering parcel automation, airport logistics and airfreight.
While other German industrial champions have prospered during the European credit crisis thanks to their strength in export markets, Siemens has floundered.
Since Loescher, who was recruited by Chairman Gerhard Cromme, took over in July 2007, the shares have declined 22 percent. Volkswagen AG has more than doubled in that period, while BASF SE, the world’s biggest chemical company, jumped 37 percent and Germany’s largest drugmaker Bayer AG climbed 51 percent.
Missing Targets
Since assuming the CEO role in 2007 with a remit to clean up after the biggest corruption scandal in German history, the now 55-year-old Loescher cut a profit forecast on July 25 for the fifth time in his six-year tenure. The Austrian national, who joined Siemens from drugmaker Merck & Co. as the company’s first external appointment as CEO, has had to write down the value of several acquisitions, and drove a failed push into environmentally friendly energy that led to spiraling costs.
Loescher’s failure to meet a profit goal of 12 percent of sales underlines the challenges for his successor. Siemens’s 60 sub-units, manufacturing products as diverse as trains, gas turbines, medical scanners and factory automation gear, pose oversight challenges as an executive seeks to understand each market. That has prompted investors to ask whether a focus on fewer businesses may help to boost profitability.
The company had ten divisions, which Loescher streamlined to fewer sectors, following a strategy developed by his predecessor Klaus Kleinfeld. Still, each of the four sectors averaged about 20 billion euros in sales last year. That figure is more than the sales of the thirteen smallest companies by revenue in Germany’s benchmark DAX Index of 30 companies.
Within each sector, there remains a plethora of sub- companies, totaling 15 further divisions and 60 units.
--Editors: Simon Thiel, Heather Harris
Extension to the agenda of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG on July 31, 2013
At its meeting on July 31, 2013, the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG will decide on the early departure of the President and CEO. In addition, it will decide on the appointment of a member of the managing board as President and CEO. The agenda of the meeting of the Supervisory Board has been extended accordingly.
Siemens Clears Way for New Leadership (7/27/13)
By Sarah Sloat
Siemens AG (SI, SIE.XE) Chief Executive Peter Loescher, who came under intense pressure this week after a profit warning, is set to leave his post, to be replaced by a member of the management board, the engineering and technology company said late Saturday.
The move must be approved by Siemens's supervisory board, which meets Wednesday.
"At its meeting on July 31, the Supervisory Board will decide on the early departure of the President and CEO," Siemens said. "It will decide on the appointment of a member of the managing board as President and CEO."
Pressure on Mr. Loescher, appointed to the top spot in 2007, has been mounting over investor criticism in the past months, which came to a head Thursday when Siemens said it won't reach its target of an overall profit margin of at least 12% in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2014.
Siemens, Germany's second-largest company by sales, has repeatedly missed its earnings targets since Mr. Loescher became CEO. In May, Siemens lowered its profit forecast for the current year due to charges, losses at its solar business and a weak economic environment.
Charges for delays and cost overruns at major projects, such as train orders and grid connections for North Sea wind parks, have repeatedly trimmed profits in past years. At a January shareholder meeting, investors criticized Mr. Loescher for overly ambitious revenue targets and management's execution of large projects.
The shakeup comes as Siemens is scheduled to release third-quarter earnings Thursday.
The company declined to comment on which management board member is up for the CEO post, but with expectations growing late in the week that Mr. Loescher's days were numbered, speculation has centered on Chief Financial Officer Joe Kaeser, as well as Siegfried Russwurm, who heads Siemens's industry sector division, and Michael Suess, who heads the energy division.
Mr. Loescher, an Austrian, joined Siemens from Merck & Co. (MRK). Siemens chose him to become CEO in summer 2007 in the wake of a bribery scandal at the Munich-based company.
-Friedrich Geiger and Ursula Quass contributed to this article.
Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@dowjones.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130727-701023.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Osram Shares Get Bumpy Debut as Investors Offload (7/08/13)
By Eyk Henning and Isabel Gomez
Shares in Osram Licht AG (OSR.XE) fell by as much as 4% on their first day of trading Monday, following the global lighting manufacturer's spin-off from Siemens AG (SIE.XE), and the stock's turbulent launch could continue for some days as institutional investors offload shares, according to analysts.
"The current share price is just a snapshot before the share price will level within the next couple of weeks," Osram's Chief Financial Officer Klaus Patzak told Dow Jones Newswires.
Osram is the world's second-largest lighting company after Philips and has a market value of around 2.5 billion euros ($3.21 billion) and 2012 revenue of EUR5.4 billion. In 2011, Siemens pulled a planned initial offering of Osram stock due to volatile market conditions in light of Europe's intensifying sovereign-debt crisis.
Siemens is spinning-off a 80.5% stake in the company by giving its shareholders one Osram share for each 10 Siemens' ones, as it seeks to focus on more profitable business areas.
Siemens's Chief Executive Peter Loscher needs the transaction to proceed well so he can effectively demonstrate his streamlining strategy, portfolio managers said earlier.
Although a spin-off is deemed less risky than an initial public offering, bankers familiar with the transaction expect the shares to come under substantial initial selling pressure as some Siemens shareholders, including index- and special-sector funds, offload Osram shares in the first couple of days. A banker familiar with the transaction told Dow Jones Newswires it will likely take five to 10 days before the share price will level out.
Mr. Patzak said he is optimistic this exit period will be finished quickly, adding "we received good feedback from long-term oriented shareholders on the roadshow."
He also confirmed that the company's net result is likely to approach break-even this year after a net loss of EUR378.3 million in 2012.
To improve its profitability, Osram last year announced a restructuring that included shedding 8,000 of its 40,157 staff globally by 2014. It aims to achieve EUR1 billion in savings by 2015 and an 8% profit margin before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. "We're comfortable with this guidance and don't need economic tailwinds to achieve it," Mr. Patzak said.
Asked about currency risks, he said Osram is "largely hedged [towards currency risks] in the short term." He added the company is comfortable in the long term with current currency relations and that Osram's production sites in the U.S. and China provide a natural hedge.
Shares in the former Siemens AG unit started trading Monday at EUR24, valuing the listed portion of the company at around EUR2.51 billion. At 1302 GMT Osram shares were trading at EUR23.56, recouping earlier losses when shares fell to EUR22.99 or 4.2%.
Write to Eyk Henning at eyk.henning@dowjones.com and Isabel Gomez at isabel.gomez@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
Former Siemens Unit Osram Starts Trading at EUR24 (7/08/13)
By Nicky Redl
Shares in former Siemens AG (SIE.XE) unit Osram Licht AG started trading Monday at a price of 24 euros ($31), valuing the listed portion of the company at around EUR2.51 billion.
There was no previous price indication, as Siemens issued 104,689,400 shares of Osram to its shareholders in a spin-off instead of conducting a bookbuilding. Siemens shareholders received one Osram share for every 10 Siemens shares they hold. The stock will be included in the DAX for just one day.
Siemens in late April said it valued the 80.5% in Osram it planned to spin off at EUR2.6 billion, giving the unit a total valuation of EUR3.23 billion, according to Dow Jones calculations. Siemens retains 17% of Osram, while Siemens' pension trust is keeping a 2.5% stake.
The listing has been a long time in the making following several delays. In 2011, Siemens pulled a planned offering of Osram stock due to volatile market conditions as Europe's sovereign debt crisis intensified. In the spring of 2012, it said it was considering an initial public offering for the third quarter, only to decide later on a spin-off.
Osram is the world's second-largest lighting company, with 2012 revenue of EUR5.4 billion. In 2012, Osram incurred a net loss of EUR378.3 million, with personnel expenses amounting to EUR1.74 billion. To rein in costs, it last year announced a restructuring that includes shedding 8,000 jobs globally by 2014. As of Sept. 30 last year, Osram employed 40,157 staff.
The revamp aims to achieve EUR1 billion in savings by 2015 and an 8% profit margin before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Write to Nicky Redl at nicky.redl@dowjones.com
World’s largest pure-play lighting company goes public (7/05/13)
The spin-off of OSRAM Licht AG from Siemens is effective as of today with the final entry in the Commercial Register. Osram is now officially independent. The world’s largest pure-play lighting company is going public on the stock exchange with this move. As an integrated lighting expert, Osram offers the entire spectrum from LED chip to lamp, luminaire and all the way up to complex lighting solutions.
The spin-off is made on the basis of the Spin-Off and Acquisition Agreement of November 28, 2012, authorized by the general meetings of Siemens on January 23, 2013 and of OSRAM Licht AG on January 21, 2013. Before the day is out, all shares of OSRAM Licht AG are to be admitted to the regulated market of the Frankfurt and Munich Stock Exchanges, as well as to the sub-segment of the regulated market with additional post-admission obligations (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Trading of OSRAM Licht AG shares will commence on July 8, 2013, under the ticker symbol “OSR” (WKN: LED400; ISIN: DE000LED4000). The overall capital stock of OSRAM Licht AG is divided into more than 100 million shares. A good 80 percent of these will today be allotted to the current Siemens shareholders at a ratio of 10:1; that is, the given shareholder will receive one new Osram share for every ten Siemens shares.
Osram, as an integrated lighting expert, is the leader along many stages of the value chain, in traditional as well as in new technologies. The company generates more than 70 percent of its revenue with energy-efficient products. LED-based products today already account for more than 25 percent of overall revenue.
ABOUT OSRAM
OSRAM of Munich, Germany is one of the two leading light manufacturers in the world. The company's portfolio covers the entire value chain from components – including lamps, opto semiconductors like light-emitting diodes (LED) – to electronic control gears as well as complete luminaires, light management systems and lighting solutions. OSRAM has around 39,000 employees worldwide and generated revenue of 5.4 billion Euros in fiscal year 2012 (ended September 30, 2012). More than 70 percent of its revenue comes from energy-efficient products. The company's business activities have been focusing on light – and hence on quality of life – for over 100 years. Additional information can be found in the internet at www.osram.com
Nokia Buys Siemens' NSN Stake for EUR1.7 Billion (7/01/13)
By Juhana Rossi and Sharon Terlep
HELSINKI--Finnish handset maker Nokia Corp. (NOK) will pay EUR1.7 billion ($2.2 billion) for Siemens AG's (SI) 50% stake in the two companies' telecommunications-equipment joint venture, they said Monday, confirming earlier reports of the deal.
Nokia will pay EUR1.2 billion in cash when the deal closes in the third calendar quarter, while the balance of EUR0.5 billion will be paid in the form of a secured loan from Siemens due one year from closing.
Nokia Siemens Networks will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nokia. Nokia said it wishes to see NSN develop itself as a more independent entity.
NSN's head office will remain in Espoo, Finland, and Nokia will keep in place NSN's existing management, including Chief Executive Rajeev Suri, but Siemens' name will be phased out of the company's name and branding.
Nokia Siemens Networks was established in 2007, combining Nokia's and Siemens's network businesses. Certain restrictions in a shareholder pact for NSN expired in April, freeing each partner to explore other options for its stake without the risk of a veto from the other party.
At the time, Siemens said it had no longer wanted to stay in the joint venture. "With this transaction, we continue our efforts to strengthen our focus on Siemens' Core areas of Energy management, Industry and Infrastructure as well as Healthcare," Joe Kaeser, Siemens' chief financial officer, said in a press release.
NSN struggled financially for many years after its launch. However, its profitability has improved rapidly in the past year due to the growing demand for new mobile broadband infrastructure and after massive corporate restructuring.
In 2012, NSN reduced its headcount by approximately 20%, and it aims to reduce its annual operating expenses by more than EUR1 billion by the end of 2013, compared with the end of 2011. NSN had 56,670 employees at the end of March.
Some analysts say the entire NSN business, if it were a publicly-listed company, could be worth more than EUR7 billion including debt. Estimates of the valuation of the venture in a takeover scenario have been lower, with analysts pegging it roughly in the range of EUR4 billion-EUR5 billion.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is financing a part of the deal, a person familiar with the matter said.
Nokia recently held talks with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) about selling its handset business, but those discussions faltered over price and worries about Nokia's slumping market share, people familiar with those talks said.
Nokia estimates that it ended the second quarter of 2013 with gross cash of between EUR9.2 billion-EUR9.7 billion and net cash of EUR3.7 billion-EUR4.2 billion. For comparison purposes, the company said that if the NSN deal had closed during the second quarter it estimates it would have had net cash of between EUR2.0 billion-EUR2.5 billion, reflecting the deduction of the purchase price of EUR1.7 billion from Nokia net cash.
Write to Juhana Rossi at juhana.rossi@dowjones.com
German technology company Siemens AG SIE.XE -0.35% said Thursday it received an order worth around €1.8 billion for delivering 1,140 commuter trains in the U.K.
Under the deal, Siemens will supply 1,140 railway cars to the Department for Transport in London from 2016 onward, Siemens said.
The trains will operate on the Thameslink north-south commuter route that runs through London and connects Bedford with Brighton on the south coast.
In addition, Siemens will be responsible for the long-term maintenance of the fleet and overseeing construction of two new train maintenance depots, in Three Bridges and Hornsey.
Siemens said that this is the largest order so far the company has ever received in the U.K. and one of the biggest in its global railway business segment.
Siemens joined with with Cross London trains (XLT) for this contract. XLT is a consortium of Siemens Project Ventures GmbH, Innisfree Limited and 3i Infrastructure 3IN.LN +0.22% PLC and will be responsible for financing the deal, it said.
The trains will be manufactured at the Siemens factory in Krefeld, Germany, and the first trains will enter service in 2016.
For the Thameslink project, Siemens invested almost €50 million in the development of a new train platform.
Siemens said it was named preferred bidder for the project in June 2011.
http://www.raillynews.com/2013/siemens-receives-e1-8-billion-order-for-u-k-trains/
Solid Osram Spinoff Key to Siemens's Larger Aims (6/23/13)
By Eyk Henning
FRANKFURT—Even though Siemens AG's Osram lighting unit faces a tough stock-market reception, Chief Executive Peter Löscher can't flinch because the spinoff is critical to his plans for the German engineering company.
Shares in Osram Licht AG, as the company will be known, likely would face immediate and intense selling pressure as index funds and other Siemens shareholders exit the stock, according to bankers involved with the transaction and financial institutions holding Siemens stock.
Shareholders would get one Osram share for every 10 Siemens shares they hold in the proposed July 8 spinoff. Analysts say the move is less risky than selling stock outright to the public even though it doesn't raise any cash for Siemens.
Mr. Löscher needs the spinoff to proceed to demonstrate that Siemens can execute effectively a streamlining strategy, portfolio managers have said. In 2011, Siemens pulled a planned initial offering of Osram stock due to volatile market conditions as Europe's sovereign-debt crisis intensified.
Officials at Siemens and Osram declined interview requests for Mr. Löscher and Osram Chief Executive Wolfgang Dehen.
The industrial giant has faced months of shareholder grumbling due to cost overruns and delays on major electricity and high-speed-train contracts in Germany, a botched solar-power investment and lethargy in focusing on key businesses and cost cuts. Meantime, economic growth in Europe, Siemens's biggest market, has stalled.
But what is good for Siemens won't necessarily be good for Osram holders. The company alerted investors to the likelihood of a selloff in a prospectus published Friday. "It is likely that a number of shareholders will sell shares and the price of our shares may initially decline significantly," according to the prospectus.
The problem isn't just the uncertain business outlook for Osram. The business, which starts with annual revenue of €5.4 billion ($7.14 billion), is contending with volatile demand and falling prices as the lighting industry switches to energy efficient light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, from incandescent bulbs. The European economy also is sluggish. Osram faces tough competition from Philips Electronics NV, General Electric Co. and Asian competitors as it invests in new LED technology.
The bigger issue for Osram's early trading is likely to be institutional investors including index- and special-sector fund managers who hold Siemens. They are likely to unload their Osram holdings within the first five to 10 days because Osram won't be a component of the Frankfurt bourse's benchmark DAX 30 index, said portfolio managers. Around 30 million Osram shares, or roughly a third of the shares in issue, are expected to change hands.
Counteracting this "flow back," possibly by luring bargain-hungry, risk-taking hedge funds to Osram's stock, is important for Mr. Löscher. He also is trying to sell its stake in a telecommunications-equipment joint venture with Finland's Nokia Corp. and troubles with Osram could taint his other plans.
"Osram needs to do well so that on the one hand, Siemens doesn't face the accusation that it only divests shaky enterprises, and on the other, to alleviate criticism that Siemens spun it off too late," said Daniel Bauer of shareholder-protection group SdK.
"We're not especially keen on Osram shares," said a manager at a large German investment fund who declined to be identified by name. The manager believes Osram is facing weak growth and needs to invest heavily in LED technology. Against that backdrop, he said some hedge funds may even take short positions in Osram and only buy if the shares fall sufficiently. "If Siemens doesn't want to own Osram, why should it be attractive to outside investors?"
Osram is valued today at around €3 billion, half of what bankers thought the stock-market valuation would be when Siemens contemplated an initial public offering of Osram stock in 2009.
Even with the reduced valuation, Mr. Löscher has a hard sell ahead of him.
Osram last year announced a restructuring that includes shedding 8,000 jobs globally by 2014, from a workforce of 41,000 at the end of 2011. The revamp aims to achieve €1 billion in savings by 2015 and an 8% profit margin before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The company suffered a net loss of €378 million in 2012 and forecasts a smaller loss this year.
Bankers close to the spinoff say the pessimism is overdone.
"Hedge funds traditionally take advantage of initial selling pressure weighing on companies that are spun off, and could build up a stake in Osram," said a banker close to the spinoff preparations.
Mr. Löscher and his executive team and advisers are meeting large Siemens shareholders as well as new potential Osram investors to promote the investment case in the run-up to July 8. One goal is to establish a so-called shadow book that helps match likely sellers with potential buyers when shares start trading to help support the stock price, according to bankers familiar with the proceedings.
-Ursula Quass in Munich and Isabel Gomez in Frankfurt contributed to this article.
Write to Eyk Henning at eyk.henning@dowjones.com
Form 6-K (6/21/13)
Treatment of Siemens ADR Holders
Holders of Siemens ADRs will not receive any shares of OSRAM Licht AG in the Spin-off. Instead, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. acting as agent for Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as depositary of the Siemens ADR facility (the “Depositary”), will receive shares of OSRAM Licht AG on behalf of the Siemens ADR holders, sell them upon commencement of the trading of shares of OSRAM Licht AG on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchanges and distribute the net cash proceeds from the sale to the ADR holders. No ADR program for the shares of OSRAM Licht AG will be created after the Spin-off.
The only way how holders of Siemens ADRs can participate in the Spin-off and receive shares of OSRAM Licht AG is through the withdrawal of their Siemens shares from the Siemens ADR facility in advance of July 5, 2013 (the “Spin-off Record Date”). The amended and restated deposit agreement dated February, 2012 among Siemens, the Depositary and all holders and beneficial owners from time to time of the Siemens ADRs (the “Deposit Agreement”) sets forth the procedure and requirements that must be met in connection with the withdrawal of Siemens shares from the Siemens ADR facility. Holders of Siemens ADRs will be solely responsible for making the necessary arrangements and the payment of fees relating to the withdrawal of Siemens shares from the Siemens ADR facility and the re-deposition of Siemens shares into the Siemens ADR facility after the Spin-off.
The Deposit Agreement is attached as Exhibit (a) to the registration statement on Form F-6 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 22, 2012, which is available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
Any requests for the withdrawal of Siemens shares from the Siemens ADR facility should be directed before the Spin-off Record Date to the Depositary at Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, 60 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005 USA, Attention: ADR Department, Broker Services Group, Telephone: +1 212 250 9100, Fax: +1 (732) 544-6346.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1135644/000119312513266659/d555496d6k.htm
Siemens unit Osram points to risk of share price fall on debut (6/21/13)
(Reuters) - Osram, the lighting company to be spun off from Siemens next month, warned that its shares could drop on their market debut as some institutional shareholders seek an immediate exit.
In the listing prospectus published on Friday, Osram said that mutual funds whose investment guidelines limit them to blue-chip stocks in Germany's DAX index would have to sell.
U.S. owners of Siemens shares in the form of American Depositary Receipts (ADR) would also not be able to keep the Osram shares because the depositary banks are forced to sell the new shares and give the proceeds to the owners.
"That is why it is not unlikely that immediately after admission to regular trading of our shares there will be considerable selling pressure," the prospectus said.
Osram (IPO-OSR.F) is scheduled to be listed on the German stock exchange on July 8.
Companies that plan to go public typically have to include in their prospectus the investment risks for shareholders.
Siemens aims to spin off 80.5 percent of Osram, which it says is worth about 3.2 billion euros ($4.2 billion), as it seeks to focus on its most profitable businesses.
Shareholders will receive one share in Osram, the world's second biggest player in the lighting industry after Philips , for every 10 Siemens shares held.
An investor roadshow has been scheduled for June 24 through July 5. ($1 = 0.7590 euros) (Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Alexander Huebner; Editing by Marilyn Gerlach/Ruth Pitchford)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/21/siemens-osram-prospectus-idUSL5N0EX0IC20130621
Siemens CFO Expects Divestitures to Happen in FY 2014 (6/18/13)
Siemens AG ’s chief financial officer, Joe Kaeser, said on Tuesday that he expected the company to divest its water, airport logistics and baggage handling units in its fiscal year 2014, ending on Sept. 30.
“As far as disposals are concerned, we’re pretty much looking into to the fiscal year 2014 time frame,” said Mr. Kaeser in an exclusive interview at the CFO Network in Washington D.C. He said the company expects to divest the units as part of a plan to shed businesses it feels could perform better with other owners.
Siemens is in the midst of a restructuring program to prop up profit margins with cost cuts, the sale of low-margin businesses and acquisitions to boost exposure to markets outside Europe.
Siemens said in November that it wants to reduce overall group costs by €6 billion with a new efficiency program that foresees slashing several thousand jobs.
Mr. Kaeser declined to elaborate on comments he made in March, when he said the company would likely exit its mobile-network partnership with Nokia , Nokia Siemens Networks, in 2013. Analysts assign an enterprise value to Nokia Siemens of between $8 billion and $10 billion, and Siemens has been selling telecommunication assets in recent years.
He said the company still wants to sell the asset, but a recent turnaround at the unit has slowed the pace of the sale.
“We’re not in a hurry,” he said.
NSN, which makes telecom equipment and software components, has posted losses since its 2007 founding, despite a series of restructuring measures and job cuts. Mr. Kaeser said in March, however, that the measures have been successful and the company is now operating profitably.
http://blogs.wsj.com/cfo/2013/06/18/siemens-cfo-expects-divestitures-to-happen-in-fy-2014/?cb=logged0.16120671827379068
Siemens Expects Charges Due to Faulty Wind Turbines (6/18/13)
By Ursula Quass
MUNICH--German engineering and electronics company Siemens AG (SI) said Monday it is facing charges to its earnings due to technical problems with wind turbines in the U.S.
The charges will weigh on Siemens' earnings in the fiscal third quarter, which ends on June 30, said a spokeswoman. Last year, Siemens' net profit amounted to 923 million euros ($1.23 billion) in the April-to-June quarter.
Siemens didn't provide a specific figure, but J.P. Morgan estimates that the added costs amount to tens of millions of euros.
Siemens began inspecting all its wind turbines in the U.S. after rotor blades fell off turbines in two of its onshore wind parks several weeks ago.
However, Siemens Chief Executive Peter Loescher doesn't expect additional charges for delayed delivery of high-speed trains, according to J.P. Morgan. Mr. Loescher said at an investor conference he expects such charges neither this nor next year, the bank wrote in a note to clients.
Write to Ursula Quass at ursula.quass@dowjones.com
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http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130618-702576.html?mod=WSJ_qtoverview_wsjlatest
Osram: Valeo to Buy Osram's Stake in JV Valeo Sylvania (6/18/13)
By Friedrich Geiger
FRANKFURT--Siemens AG's (SI) lighting subsidiary Osram said Tuesday it has entered an agreement with Valeo SA (FR.FR) which allows the French automotive supplier to buy Osram's stake in their North American joint venture Valeo Sylvania.
The two companies struck a put and call option agreement, according to which Valeo can acquire Osram's 50% stake in early 2014, said the German lighting company. Financial details of the agreement weren't disclosed.
Valeo Sylvania has more than 1,000 employees, according to the joint venture's website.
Siemens plans to spin off Osram in July, distributing free shares to its shareholders.
Write to Friedrich Geiger at friedrich.geiger@dowjones.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130618-700825.html?mod=WSJ_qtoverview_wsjlatest
Siemens Eyes Network Deal (6/14/13)
Telecom-Gear Venture With Nokia Is Shopped to Possible Private-Equity Buyers
Germany's Siemens AG SIE.XE +0.20%is sounding out private-equity firms about possibly buying its telecommunications-equipment joint venture with Nokia Corp., NOK1V.HE +4.71%according to people familiar with the matter.
The German conglomerate has approached a number of buyout funds, including TPG, Blackstone Group and KKR & Co., to gauge their interest in buying the wireless-networking venture, called Nokia Siemens Networks, the people said. Another possibility, less likely, they say, is a sale of Siemen's stake in the venture.
Some analysts say the entire NSN business, if it were public, could be worth more than €7 billion ($9.36 billion) including debt.
The approaches come as Nokia explores a possible buyout of its 50-50 German partner in the venture, according to people familiar with the matter.
It is unclear whether Siemens's approaches to private-equity firms will lead anywhere, but they add a new dimension to the partners' recent efforts to transform the six-year-old venture's ownership structure.
The catalyst for the recent exploration of alternatives for NSN is a change in April in the shareholder agreement that frees each partner to explore options for its stake without the risk of a veto from the other party. Still, it is unclear how Nokia would view a possible sale of all or part of NSN to private-equity investors.
Siemens Chief Financial Officer Joe Kaeser earlier this year said NSN "is not a business that we have any aspirations to stay [in]…and I do believe that 2013 will be the time for Siemens to help NSN to move to a better place."
As its once-formidable cellphone handset business declines, Nokia has been trying to cobble together a deal to buy Siemens out of the venture, whose fortunes have recently ticked up, analysts say. It has held discussions with Solidium, the Finnish sovereign-wealth fund, which could help it pay for such a deal, people familiar with the matter said.
Before such a deal can be struck, however, significant obstacles must be overcome. For one, if the European Commission viewed Solidium involvement as a form of state aid, that conclusion could complicate or possibly derail any such deal, according to one of the people.
NSN's valuation has improved after efforts to cut costs and focus on fourth-generation wireless networks have begun to bear fruit, bankers and analysts say. NSN has cut around a quarter of its global workforce and sold several units.
NSN struggled to make a steady profit in the wake of its formation in 2007 amid strong competition from Asian competitors including Huawei Technologies Co. More recently, it posted an operating profit of roughly €250 million in last year's fourth quarter and a small one in the first quarter of this year.
If no acquisition deal is struck for NSN, another possibility is an initial public offering of its shares. Credit Suisse CSGN.VX +0.04%analysts said in a recent note that an IPO of NSN "makes the most sense" for Nokia, adding the joint venture could be valued at around 0.6 times its estimated revenue for 2014, or between €7.1 billion and €7.5 billion including debt in such a scenario. Estimates of the valuation of the venture in a takeover scenario are lower, with the analysts pegging that roughly in the range of €4 billion and €5 billion.
—Ryan Dezember contributed to this article.
Write to Dana Cimilluca at dana.cimilluca@wsj.com and Eyk Henning at eyk.henning@dowjones.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323734304578544910076383572.html?KEYWORDS=siemens
We have been waiting a long time for this.
Finally!
Osram may start lighting M&A’s after Siemens spin-off (3/29/11)
Lighting group Osram will pursue takeovers and alliances once it is spun out of German conglomerate Siemens in an initial public offering (IPO) late this year.
Osram, the world’s No. 2 player in the 40-45 billion euros ($56-64 billion) lighting market after Philips, will be listed as part of a revamp of Siemens, Europe’s biggest engineering company.
“There will be a lot of opportunities for collaboration with other companies,” Siemens Chief Executive Peter Loescher told Reuters Insider television. Spinning off Osram – the only unit within the conglomerate which does not carry the Siemens brand – will free up capital and allow Siemens to tap into a growing green energy market, Loescher said.
The fixture market in Europe is extremely fragmented. An analyst said he expects Osram to target more lighting and fixtures companies in Europe, where many players are only active in parts of the market or a limited number of countries.
Osram, estimated to be worth 5-7 billion euros, ranks above General Electric and competes with Panasonic and CREE.
Siemens plans to sell off just over 50 percent of Osram, chief financial officer Joe Kaeser said. It is looking to complete the flotation in the latter part of 2011 and will remain a major long-term shareholder.
Osram will have a solid supply of capital and is looking at a credit rating of A minus or BBB plus, Siemens said.
The Osram flotation is part of a larger overhaul of Siemens under which it will create a fourth division, “infrastructure and cities”, alongside existing energy, industry, and healthcare units.
Siemens' Osram Spin-Off Set for July 8 (6/13/13)
Industrial conglomerate Siemens AG (SI) said Thursday that the spin-off of its lighting unit Osram is planned for July 8.
A spokeswoman confirmed the date, which was mentioned in investor presentations by Chief Executive Officer Peter Loescher and Chief Financial Officer Joe Kaeser.
On July 8, Siemens shareholders will receive one Osram share for every 10 Siemens shares they hold. After the spin-off, Siemens will hold 17% of Osram and 2.5% will belong to a Siemens pension fund.
Siemens values Osram at EUR3.2 billion ($4.26 billion).
Write to Ursula Quass at ursula.quass@dowjones.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130613-703668.html
Siemens Unit Osram Worth up to EUR4.2B or EUR40/Share -Study (6/03/13)
By Eyk Henning
FRANKFURT-The Osram lighting unit that German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG (SIE.XE) is set to spin off could have a fair value of up to 4.2 billion euros ($5.46 million), or EUR40 a share, according to one of the banks advising on the transaction.
"We ... see a fair equity value of EUR3.4 billion-EUR 4.2 billion (EUR32-EUR40 a share). We believe the spin-off makes sense from the perspective of Siemens' shareholders," Commerzbank analysts say in a valuation study. The study will be used on the roadshow to promote Osram shares for existing Siemens shareholders and potential new investors.
Siemens plans to distribute 80.5% of Osram stock to shareholders in a spinoff of the lighting unit, a move approved by Siemens' shareholders in January. The transaction will result in Osram becoming a publicly-listed company with a listing on the Frankfurt and Munich exchanges, Siemens has said. Siemens has long aimed to divest Osram, which it considers non-core, but a flotation was delayed due to adverse market conditions.
Osram is targeting EUR1 billion in cost savings by 2015, half of which should come from improving procurement processes. The company faces significant change as the sector shifts away from conventional incandescent light bulbs and increasingly focuses on light-emitting diodes, or LED technology.
Siemens in late April said it values 80.5% in Osram at EUR2.6 billion, giving the unit a total valuation of EUR3.23 billion, according to Dow Jones calculations.
Other banks advising on the transaction inlcude Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank AG and UBS AG.
Write to Eyk Henning at eyk.henning@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130603-704632.html?mod=WSJ_qtoverview_wsjlatest
This stock is really looking good. 4% dividend, plus capital appreciation. Good safe play.
Yes it is. Euro going up..Siemens cutting costs. We are golden.
Yup. Very nice. Annual dividend is just around the corner.
Look at that chart. Going up and up as long as the Euro continues to go up. 150 in 2013 plus a nice dividend.
There is a glaring discrepancy in the balance sheet at least as far as the medical imaging division is concerned. Accounts Receivable is listed as an asset. What we need to look at is the amount of vendors that are not paying their bills for their doses. If these dose providers declare bankruptcy, all their revenue is gone. The days of providing doses without a contract, letting companies slide on payment etc. will come to roost with Siemens. Mark my words.
Pretty nice dividend here. If it wasn't for the Euro tanking, the share price would be up too.
I'm starting to feel guilty going back to the same well so many times in a row.
Someday soon it's going to break out to the $100s or down to the low $80s. This trading channel/pattern has to end soon. IMHO.
Rinse. Wash. Repeat.
SI has been a nice, easy trade for even the worst of us. I will always have core shares, especially with a near 3% yield at these prices (higher yield for long term shares), but can't resist playing the swings.
I think SI gets unfairly dragged down in Euro muck. I wonder if the market participants forget how much of their business is USA vs Germany vs Global.
I agree about the fast recoveries. When the DOW has a good day SI jumps up more than most. Always has high volume. A great money making stock when < 90.
I posted that at $130 it wasn't looking like a great buy. Dropping so fast back to the $80s it has become a nice buying opportunity.
I re-added some the other day, and again in the low $90s. With the strong dividend and consistent growth, I think SI recovers with the market faster than others. Although Europe needs to cooperate and avoid any financial crisis.
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