FRANKFURT--German engineering group Robert Bosch GmbH will
purchase Siemens AG's 50% stake in household appliances joint
venture BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH, the companies said
on Monday.
Bosch will pay EUR3 billion ($3.85 billion) for Siemens's stake,
making BSH a wholly owned subsidiary of Bosch. Both companies will
receive EUR250 million from BSH as part of the transaction. The
deal, which still requires regulatory approval, will probably be
completed in the first half of 2015.
The largest producer of household appliances in Europe, BSH had
revenue totaling about EUR10.5 billion in 2013.
Bosch's acquisition of the appliances division fits into the
company's overall strategy to develop intelligent technologies,
including energy-efficient "smart home" products.
The deal is part of a larger effort by Siemens to shed its
noncore businesses, while moving away from producing consumer
products. In 2013, Siemens sold for EUR1.7 billion its stake in a
telecommunications equipment joint venture with Nokia Corp.
Siemens's U.S. rival General Electric Co. announced a deal
earlier this month to sell its appliances business to Electrolux AB
of Sweden for $3.3 billion.
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