Antitrust authority approval had already been issued by the relevant national offices. This enables Continental to close the transaction in early December and transfer the purchase amount, €11.4 billion including tax benefits of around €1 billion, to Siemens AG. The integration of Siemens VDO into the Continental Corporation will begin immediately after closing.
“We are delighted that, having received the approval of the EU Commission, we can now shortly conclude the purchase of Siemens VDO and, in so doing, take the most momentous step in Continental’s corporate history,” said Continental executive board chairman Manfred Wennemer.
Upon conclusion of the transaction, Continental will rank amongst the global automotive supplier industry’s top five, with sales of more than €25 billion and approximately 140,000 (based upon 2006 figures) employees. T
he acquisition of Siemens VDO Automotive AG represents for Continental the logical next step in its evolution as an integrated systems supplier. At the same time the future product portfolio well covers the expected upcoming megatrends of safety, sustainability and information. (Tyres & Accessories/Staffordshire, U.K.)
