EU commission approval of the acquisition of Austrian engineering firm VA Tech by Germany’s Siemens will now see the Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution Group (Siemens PTD) take over the Transmission & Distribution Division of the Austrian company.
With a workforce of about 5,400, VA Tech T&D posted global sales of €1.1 billion in 2004.
When the deal is finally closed, expected within the next few days, Siemens will hold more than 97% of VA Tech shares with a purchase price of around €1 billion. However, competition regulators have refused to approve a merger of VA Tech hydroelectric activities with the German engineering giant. Accordingly, Siemens is expected to initiate a sale of the VA Tech generation unit immediately.
