Siemens mum on future of Fujitsu computer venture

Aug 6, 2008, 11:37 GMT

Munich - Germany's Siemens concern declined to comment Wednesday on a report that it planned to pull out of its computer joint venture with Japan's Fujitsu.

'We have nothing at all to say at the moment,' a spokesman said in response to a report in the Wall Street Journal that Siemens had informed the Japanese concern of its plans.

The joint venture was forged in 1999. Siemens has to inform Fujitsu by September this year if it wants to pull out, otherwise the contract will automatically be renewed for 5 years from 2009.

If the Munich-based company pulls out Fujitsu has a right of first refusal on its 50 per cent stake in Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC), but it is unclear if it will exercise that right, the report said.

If Fujitsu waives its right one possible buyer could be Chinese computer maker Lenovo, which acquired IBM's personal computer division in 2005, the Wall Street Journal said.

Based on the Chinese firm's evaluation, the Fujitsu Siemens venture could be worth, 4 billion dollars, it added.

FSC was once the market leader in Europe but has lost ground to rivals such as Acer, Hewlett-Packard and Dell amid a fierce pricing war, particularly among notebooks.

Siemens recently disclosed plans to slash 16,750 jobs worldwide in a bid to streamline operations and raise productivity.