Siemens Intelligent Traffic Systems CEO Marcus Welz speaks during the Autoblog UPSHIFT 2016 on Oct. 6 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo : Getty Images)
Earlier this week, the Chinese firm Sanan Optoelectronics claimed that it held talks with the German Osram Licht AG company. These talks were regarding a probable acquisition which would add another digit to the already flooded Chinese overseas purchases.
However, Sanan hasn't provided any details regarding its ongoing communication with Osram, saying that there haven't been any agreements over the price plus the binding documents have yet to been signed.
If this purchase becomes a successful one, the Chinese company would take over a huge German high-end lighting producer capable of providing headlights even for the latest BMW 7 series!
According to a Bloomberg report, this acquisition would add up to the already heaped pile of $190 billion of foreign business acquisitions of China. The step of entering into Germany's industry would be a huge achievement for China, but this news has raised concerns among various European officials and politicians.
Despite enormous prospects for China's business potential, Sanan remarked that there still remained a number of uncertainties that were to be cleared out before any decision came to the surface. Since Siemens AG holds around 17 percent shares in Osram, this isn't only about Sanan and Osram.
The equation has also pulled in Siemens, the largest engineering company in Europe. Given the current situation, Siemens is speculating regarding offloading its stake to the potential buyers. Selling Osram's remainder may affect Siemen's close ties with Osram after the two have come a long way to work on big industrial projects in the energy sector as well as the consumer-facing industry.
Any arising prospects of Siemens exit from Osram would subsequently result in the worsening of relations between the companies' internal management. Joe Kaeser, the CEO of Siemens questioned his counterpart's choice to heavily invest in Malaysia's semiconductors manufacturing facility.
This has been a surprising blow to Osram. According to another report, the company has terminated around 7800 jobs after this spin-off and has decided on selling its general lamps unit to a Chinese LED-maker for 400 million euros.
How would the entire situation pan out? Will China be able to add another important business unit to its stockpile of overseas assets?
