Siemens Potential Stake Sales to Fund Altair Acquisition

ZURICH (Reuters) – Siemens is considering selling portions of its holdings in Siemens Healthineers, Siemens Energy, and Fluence to finance its $10.6 billion acquisition of Altair, according to Chief Financial Officer Ralf Thomas.

Siemens currently possesses a 75% stake in Siemens Healthineers, a 17% stake in Siemens Energy, and a 31% stake in Fluence. "We have substantial financial potential from the sale of shares in listed entities," Thomas stated during a call with analysts.

He emphasized that the intention behind selling shares is closely tied to the Altair acquisition. Additionally, Siemens had recently raised around 3.5 billion euros ($3.81 billion) from selling its Innomotics electric motors and drives business.

Thomas remarked, "We are not religious about a 75% shareholding in Siemens Healthineers," suggesting a potential reduction of about 5% could be considered. He also indicated plans to decrease the stake in Siemens Energy within a few months.

Importantly, Siemens aims to minimize the impact on the stock prices of the affected companies during the share sales. Thomas reassured that previous reductions in Siemens Energy investments were executed without major market disturbances, stating, "We will definitely protect the share price of those companies being affected."

($1 = 0.9191 euros)