Dräger acquires 10 percent of Siemens AG shares in its Joint Venture Dräger Medical AG & Co. KG for a sales price of approximately 110 million EUR and increases its stake to 75 percent. At the same time, Siemens AG waves the sales option of its shares originally agreed in the Joint Venture contract and retains its 25 percent holding in the Dräger Medical Group. In addition, Siemens AG plans to purchase 2.5 percent of the Drägerwerk AG, probably in the form of common stock to be issued in the future.
"With an investment in Drägerwerk AG, we document that we want to intensify and continue our partnership," emphasizes Erich R. Reinhardt, member of the Executive Board of Siemens AG and CEO and President of Siemens Medical Solutions. "We have reached an excellent competitive position and are growing faster than the market," added Stefan Dräger, Chairman of Drägerwerk AG. Both companies have contributed to the development of Dräger Medical into one of the leading international manufacturers of medical therapy systems.
In 2003, Drägerwerk AG and Siemens AG founded the Joint Venture Dräger Medical AG & Co. KG, Lübeck. For fiscal year 2006, the total number of employees was at approximately 6,000, and sales of approx. 1.2 billion EUR and an EBIT of approximately 110 million EUR is expected.
Drägerwerk AG is an international leader in the markets for medical and safety technology. In 2005, this technology group generated sales of 1,630.8 million. Founded in 1889, Dräger, Lübeck, nowadays employs around 9,700 people in more than 190 countries, hereof more than 50 percent outside of Germany. The Dräger Medical subgroup offers products and services plus integrated system solutions along the entire patient process chain in the CareAreas emergency care, perioperative care, critical and perinatal care, as well as home care. The Dräger Safety subgroup's portfolio covers products and system solutions for holistic hazard management: gas detection, personal and property protection products including a wide variety of services. For further information, visit www.draeger.com.