Siemens to buy UGS in $3.5B deal
PLM software maker to be part of Siemens’ automation business
By Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 1/26/2007 3:55:00 PM
German conglomerate Siemens announced it would buy product lifecycle management software provider UGS from private equity firms Bain Capital, Silver Lake Partners and Warburg Pincus for $3.5 billion. Siemens said it plans to bring the PLM company into its automation group.
In a recent Associated Press report, Helmut Gierse, head of that group, said the software company would fit nicely with Siemens' factory-automation business, one of the German conglomerate's biggest and most profitable units.
“It opens up a fascinating possibility for us as the key automation supplier in the world, and UGS will widen our footprint in the United States,'' Gierse said. UGS had revenue of $1.15 billion in 2005.
“Most of the opportunity here is to complement the capital goods that Siemens already sells,” said Bill Swanton, an analyst for AMR Research in a recent Bloomberg story. “UGS hasn't been profitable, which is one of the reasons that they weren't taken public.”
For Siemens, the UGS purchase is part the company’s plan to shed unprofitable divisions while buying companies in other lines, including medical diagnostics and water treatment.
Also as part of that strategy, Siemens said it will sell its shares in automotive supplier Siemens VDO in an initial public offering, but will retain majority control of it.
Huntsman makes bid for Tronox
08/30/2009Siemens names new supply chain chief
11/14/2008Soda ash prices trend down on lower demand
07/26/2009
Now Playing: 