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| As announced by Drägerwerk AG, Lübeck, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose to the annual stockholders' meeting on 23 June to pay from Drägerwerk AG's net income of DM 14.6 million (previous year: DM 18.8 million) a cash dividend of Euro 0.42 for preferred stock and Euro 0.36 for common stock with respect to fiscal 1999. As the capital available to pay these dividends stems from foreign income, German resident stockholders will not receive a corporation income tax credit. The distribution for participation certificates remains unchanged, which at Euro 4.20 is equal to ten times the preferred stock dividend and is around ten times the calculated nominal value of the no-par-value shares.
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| Lübeck, March 6, 2003 - Siemens Medical Solutions (Med) has proposed to the EU Commission that it sell its Life Support Systems (LSS) division. The intended disinvestment is Siemens Med’s response to the objections, related to competition laws, expressed by the Brussels EU cartel authority with respect to the company’s planned joint venture with Lübeck-based Drägerwerk AG in the area of critical care. Life support systems are devices that help maintain vital patient functions, e.g. the anesthesia systems and ventilators used in operating rooms and intensive care units.
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| The offer came in the wake of an examination of the planned joint venture by the respective authorities in the USA and the European Union. Though the American Federal Trade Commission had already given the project its unreserved approval, the EU launched a full investigation into the joint venture at the end of January.
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| Having worked intensively with the Commission over recent months, both companies have come to the conclusion that the Commission will not accept the arguments and objectives of the joint venture in its intended form. To avoid a long period of uncertainty, both companies have decided, in the interests of their customers and staff, to take proactive action to counter the concerns of the Commission by offering to sell LSS.
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| "Of course we are disappointed. Until yesterday we were sure that our arguments would be persuasive and that the joint venture would be approved in full, including the anesthesia and ventilation business. Nevertheless, one goal remains unchanged: to expand our portfolio by including Siemens’ technology expertise in monitoring. This will allow us to supply single-source process-oriented solutions that will help our customers cut costs and raise the quality of treatment," explains Dr. Wolfgang Reim, Dräger Medical CEO.
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| The disinvestment will affect the Siemens plant in Solna/Sweden with its 400 employees, as well as the worldwide sales and service organization, which also employs 400. Anesthesia and ventilation development, production, marketing and sales are based in Solna. The monitoring facility in Danvers/USA is not affected.
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| The revenues from the sale of the LSS business would be channeled into the joint venture, under the terms of which Siemens Medical Solutions (Med) would hold a 35 percent stake in Dräger Medical AG & Co. KGaA . The joint venture would be expected to have a business volume of some EUR 1.1 billion and would employ approximately 5,600 people worldwide.
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| Dräger Medical is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of medical devices. The Drägerwerk AG subgroup with the highest sales, Dräger Medical supplies integrated system solutions and services across the entire patient care chain for critical care in the hospital and the home care sector. Dräger Medical employs a workforce worldwide of around 4,800, and is represented in over 100 countries. In the past six years of business, the company’s sales rose continuously by over 10% per year, reaching a total of EUR 805 million in 2001. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew four times from EUR 9.1 million in 2000 to EUR 39.0 million in 2001. The innovative concepts that come out of Dräger Medical are the result of years of experience, high investment in R&D, and intensive dialog with customers. The company’s goal is to improve the quality of patient care while at the same time helping reduce costs in the healthcare sector. For further information, visit: www.draeger-medical.com
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| Siemens Medical Solutions (Med) is one of the world’s largest providers in the healthcare market, producing innovative products, services and complete solutions. The company covers the entire spectrum, from imaging systems for diagnosis and therapy, electromedicine and audiology, to IT solutions aimed at optimizing workflows in hospitals and doctors’ offices and improving efficiency. Part and parcel of the company’s services include taking responsibility for the customer’s data management requirements as an Application Service Provider, and process management, tailored to specific medical conditions, in prevention, healing and care. Med employs around 31,000 people worldwide. In fiscal 2002 (30 September), the company achieved sales of EUR 7.6 billion, with order entries of EUR 8.4 billion. EBIT was EUR 1 billion. For further information, visit: http://www.siemensmedical.com.
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Dräger Medical AG & Co. KGaA
Claudia Büring, Public Relations
Phone (+49 451) 8 82- 1986
claudia.buering@draeger.com
Drägerwerk AG
Dr. Welf Böttcher, Unternehmenskommunikation und Investor Relations
Phone (+49 451) 8 82- 2201
welf.boettcher@draeger.com
Siemens Medical Solutions
Melanie Schmude, Pressereferat
Phone: (+49 9131) 84 - 8335
melanie.schmude@siemens.com
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(c) Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, 2007 |
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