Siemens AG has given up its voting right majority on Infineon Technolgies AG shares. Following the spin out of Siemens AG's semiconductor division and the subsequent initial public offering of Infineon Technologies AG this step represents the logical consequence. Both Siemens and Infineon had always sought to separately manage their companies according to their different business models, thus planning to reduce Siemens' controlling interest to a minority.
�I welcome this step, which was always planned. We are pleased that Siemens found a way to deconsolidate Infineon in a way that is friendly to Infineon's shareholders,� commented Dr. Ulrich Schumacher, CEO and president of Infineon Technologies AG. �With this important step Infineon will continue to run its business in an autonomous and successful manner. Certainly, Siemens will continue to remain an important strategic partner and key customer.�
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for applications in the wired and wireless communications markets, for security systems and smartcards, for the automotive and industrial sectors, as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In the fiscal year 2001 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 5.67 billion with about 33,800 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange.
Further information is available at www.infineon.com