It’s time for another edition of Odds & Ends where we share some random articles and pieces that we have been reading… 1. Harvard Business School touts Ferrari’s (RACE) exemplary leadership prior to the coronavirus crisis. Some good lessons in there and kudos to Chairman John Elkann and CEO Louis Camilleri for their strong leadership and foresight. Ferrari… Read More »
Eaton (ETN) recently hosted an investor day and announced that it would be pruning its portfolio of businesses. As part of that initiative, the company will spin off its LED lighting business by the end of 2019. Like its parent, the new lighting company will be domiciled in Ireland (remember when tax inversions were all the rage?), but… Read More »
The long, drawn out Osram (MU:OSR) saga finally came to a close a few weeks ago when ~80% of the shares in the lighting company were officially listed on July 8th. Siemens (SI) shareholders received one share of Osram for every 10 shares of Siemens owned. The shares are currently trading on foreign exchanges as there doesn’t appear to… Read More »
The saga of Siemens’ (SI) spinoff of Osram, which we first wrote about on March 18, 2011, and which recently survived a strange shareholder lawsuit, is drawing to a close. In a pair of presentations by Peter Löscher, President and CEO and by Joe Kaeser, CFO, the company included a July 8 date for the spinoff on a… Read More »
Well that didn’t take long to get back on track. After shareholders overwhelmingly approved Siemens’ (SI) Osram lighting spinoff, the transaction was quickly derailed by a lawsuit. A small group of shareholders claimed the meeting was invalid due to acoustics issues, a charge which Siemens considered ‘without merit’. A Munich judge agreed with the company and tossed the complaint stating the… Read More »
Earlier this year, Siemens(SI) shareholders overwhelmingly approved the spinoff of 80.5% of Osram at the company’s annual meeting. Or did they? Though it was reported that 98% of shareholders who cast votes were in favor of the spin off, a group of shareholders has now stepped forward to challenge the vote. While this lawsuit is pending, the company… Read More »
In late November, the board of directors at Siemens (SI) approved a plan calling for a shareholder vote on a potential spinoff of its lighting unit, Osram, at the upcoming Annual Meeting in January. Well…January is here and shareholders overwhelmingly approved the measure at yesterday’s meeting, with ~98% of the votes cast agreeing to the move. Shareholders of… Read More »
It’s not easy being analog in a digital world, just ask Kodak. This is the predicament that Osram finds itself in. With 39,000 employees in 44 plants in 16 countries- but only two plants which manufacture LEDs, no wonder that parent Siemens(SI) was forced to spin the division off when it couldn’t find a buyer. It was announced… Read More »
As we reported earlier, Siemens(SI) board was meeting today to discuss moving forward with the spinoff of its Osram lighting division. Today, the company announced that the board will propose the spinoff to shareholders at its Annual General Meeting on January 23. The plan requires 75% approval at the AGM. The company will be distributing 80.5% of Osram… Read More »
Some spinoffs, like Bogen, have practically happened before you know about them. Others seem to be perpetually upcoming, with periodic reports indicating little progress. The long-discussed spinoff of Osram by Siemens(SI) falls into the latter category. We most recently discussed this in the summer, over a year after our first mention. As you may recall, after being unable… Read More »
It’s been well over a year since we mentioned that Siemens(SI) was looking to divest its Osram lighting unit. Now, 16 months later, unable to get the price it wanted, or to conduct an IPO, the company plans to spin off the unit to shareholders. On its recent conference call, Siemens CEO Peter Loscher announced the plans: As… Read More »