Conti & TRW Inflate their Siemens VDO Bids

During the weekend of 21-22 July both Continental AG and TRW Automotive submitted bids in excess of 12 billion euros for Siemens’ VDO unit. This news was reported in the German financial newspaper Handelsblatt and draws upon unspecified sources within the financial industry. The companies involved have chosen to neither confirm nor deny the report.

As part of their offer TRW and Blackstone, the private equity company backing the TRW bid, have allegedly promised not to close any factories in Germany. The Siemens supervisory board is expected to meet on July 25, at which time it will discuss whether to sell the VDO unit to either Continental or TRW instead of floating it in an IPO.