SIE Siemens N Ord

RNS No 6820k
DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
6 August 1999


     KIM HOWELLS RELEASES SIEMENS FROM UNDERTAKINGS
                            

Kim Howells, Minister for Competition and Consumer
Affairs, announced today that he had decided to release
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft ("Siemens") from certain
undertakings given in 1989 following the Monopolies and
Mergers Commission (MMC) report on the proposed
acquisition by GEC Siemens plc of The Plessey Company
plc.  The acquisition proceeded after these and other
undertakings were given by Siemens, by the General
Electric Company plc ("GEC") and by GEC Siemens plc.

Siemens is to be released from the undertakings in so far
as they relate to businesses in which they no longer hold
an interest, after their disposal of Siemens Plessey
Electronic Systems Limited on 15 April 1998 and of their
remaining stake in TV Product Services Limited on 31
March 1999.

Notes to editors

1.   The proposed acquisition of The Plessey Company by
GEC and Siemens was referred to the MMC on 11 January
1989.

2.   The MMC's report (Cmnd 676) was published on 21
April 1989.  The MMC found that in respect of GEC, the
proposal raised competition concerns in defence radar,
military communications and traffic control equipment.
The MMC also found that the merger proposals raised
concerns as to competition in a large defence avionics
project called JTIDS and (having regard to the fact that
Siemens is not a United Kingdom-owned company), potential
conflicts with national security requirements.

3.   The then Secretary of State accepted the MMC's
unanimous conclusions and recommendation that the
proposed acquisition be allowed to proceed provided
appropriate undertakings were given by GEC and Siemens to
deal with aspects of the merger which might otherwise be
expected to operate against the public interest.  He
requested:


(i) the Director General of Fair Trading to seek
undertakings from GEC that GEC should not acquire any
interest in or influence or control over the management
of the Plessey Radar and Defence Systems business or
Plessey's traffic control businesses;

(ii) the Secretary of State for Defence to seek
undertakings from GEC and Siemens that access to the
technology and the licences for production of JTIDS
equipment be made available, on terms satisfactory to the
MoD, to competing companies designated by the MoD;

(iii) the Secretary of State for Defence to seek
undertakings from GEC and Siemens to satisfy United
Kingdom national Security requirements as to the
ownership and management of defence, R&D and
semiconductor activities.

4.   The undertakings were accepted by Nicholas Ridley,
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and published
on 2 August 1989.

5.   On 11 July 1997, Margaret Beckett announced that she
was releasing GEC from its undertakings not to acquire
any interest in or influence or control over the
management of enterprises deriving from the Plessey Radar
and Defence Systems businesses or Plessey's Traffic
Control businesses, which were acquired by Siemens (see
DTI Press Notice P/97/463).

6.   Copies of the undertakings given by Siemens and the
release document can be obtained from Trevor Kenney,
Competition Policy Directorate 1a, Department of Trade
and Industry, Room 611, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H
0ET, tel 0171 215 5759.


END

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