Regulators give the go ahead for acquisition, but only on condition of generation divestment
EU commission approval of the acquisition of Austrian engineering firm VA Tech by Germany’s Siemens will now see the Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution Group (Siemens PTD) take over the Transmission & Distribution Division of the Austrian company.
With a workforce of about 5,400, VA Tech T&D posted global sales of €1.1 billion in 2004.
When the deal is finally closed, expected within the next few days, Siemens will hold more than 97% of VA Tech shares with a purchase price of around €1 billion. However, competition regulators have refused to approve a merger of VA Tech hydroelectric activities with the German engineering giant. Accordingly, Siemens is expected to initiate a sale of the VA Tech generation unit immediately.