Fujitsu Limited and Siemens AG announced on Tuesday that Fujitsu will acquire Siemens’s 50% share in their joint venture Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) by April 1, 2009. Siemens has been deciding to pull out from the computer company due to its low profitability for several months, whereas Fujitsu claims that FSC is still a valuable asset.

“Fully integrating Fujitsu Siemens Computers into the Fujitsu Group fits perfectly into our global growth strategy. We're inheriting a strong customer base in EMEA and an R&D capability that can support our global products development – not to mention a tremendously talented group of employees who share our values and commitment to grow with our customers as their trusted business partner,” said Kuniaki Nozoe, president of Fujitsu.

Fujitsu Siemens Computers was established on October 1, 1999 as a 50-50 joint venture based in Maarssen, The Netherlands. In a decade, the company has established a leading position in the EMEA market for IT infrastructure, earning a reputation for quality and innovation in the server, PC, and data storage fields. Responding to the needs of its customers, Fujitsu Siemens Computers has also rapidly expanded its infrastructure services business to deliver a full range of innovative IT solutions.

Under the share purchase agreement signed between the companies, Fujitsu will acquire Siemens's stake for approximately €450 million ($585.15 million). The companies plan to close the transaction on April 1, 2009 after approval from relevant government agencies. Fujitsu Siemens Computers will continue to operate as a joint venture until the transaction is completed. Earlier it was reported that Lenovo Group was interested in taking over Siemens’s share the joint venture.

Fujitsu sells personal computers under its own brand-name in Japan and the USA will now become a considerably larger competitor for companies like Lenovo Group, Toshiba Corp. and so on. Nonetheless, Fujitsu will not attempt to boost its market share, but will try to concentrate on expanding on lucrative markets, such as servers. Moreover, there are rumours that Fujitsu may sell consumer PC business of FSC eventually.

“We would like to compete with IBM and HP but even after this acquisition we are not at a level where we can put up a fight. We currently have a single-digit share of the market, and want to take that to double digits,” Tatsuo Tomita, a corporate senior executive vice president at Fujitsu, told a news conference in reference to servers, reports Reuters news-agency.

Fujitsu and Siemens also announced that the chief executive officer and president of Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Bernd Bischoff, has resigned for personal reasons. Kai Flore, chief financial officer of Fujitsu Siemens Computers, has been appointed the new CEO and president of the company.

"We continue to focus our Company on the strategic sectors Energy, Industry and Healthcare. We are happy that our joint-venture partner Fujitsu will acquire our stake in Fujitsu Siemens Computers and will take the company to its next level of success," added Joe Kaeser, Siemens’s chief financial officer.

Over the years, Fujitsu and Siemens have developed a mutually beneficial partnership encompassing technology sharing and other collaborative business activities in the information communications field. The companies intend to continue collaborating in various fields of technology in the future.

Tags: Fujitsu, Siemens