OXFORD, United Kingdom—While downplaying speculation about a merger or joint venture with Motorola, executives within Siemens’ mobile-phone division confirmed that it is looking at a number of alliance options as it attempts to respond to a worldwide slowdown in the mobile telecom equipment market.
Rudi Lamprecht, chief executive officer (CEO) of Siemens Mobile Phones, admitted the company has been hit hard by the cell-phone downturn. “But you don’t have to respond to that by a merger—there are other ways. And our first goal is not market share, but earning money,” he said.
However, insiders claim that, while Motorola and Siemens have been in secret discussions for some months, they did not expect an announcement in the short-term.
Commenting on a possible link-up, analysts were generally skeptical about prospects of a deal between Siemens and Motorola. “I don’t see any fit at all. I would be extremely surprised if these talks bear fruit,” said one industry watcher.
Issues including brand positioning and differing technical standards are thought to be at the heart of the discussions. The German group already cooperates with Japan’s Toshiba in developing new cell phones, and analysts have speculated that the two companies could be interested in a wider alliance.
