The writing has been on the wall for years. Computer makers are suffering from waning profits as their products have become a low-cost commodity, forcing industry players to rethink their participation in the sector. IBM Corp. left the industry in 2004 with the sale of its computer business to China's Lenovo Group Ltd. while Hewlett-Packard Co. acquired rival Compaq Computer Corp. in 2001, and Gateway Computer Corp. was acquired by Acer Inc. in 2007.
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Now, Siemens AG may decide to exit the industry with a pullout from its computer-making joint venture with Fujitsu Siemens Computers Holding
BV, according to The Wall Street Journal. The venture was formed in 1999, and Fujitsu Siemens has grown to become the fourth-largest
maker of desktop computers in Western Europe during the second
quarter, according to research firm IDC.
But that hasn't been enough for Siemens. According to the Journal, Siemens chief executive officer Peter Loescher has been disappointed with Fujitsu Siemens' performance amid competition with Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard. Despite this speculation of a pullout, Masahiro Yamane, a spokesman for Fujitsu, told Reuters, "no solid decisions have been made." Siemens -- Europe's largest engineering company -- also has been scaling back its holdings in the telecommunications industry and now sees its future lies in its core industries of automation equipment, power networks and medical scanners. - Gerald Magpily
See Wall Street Journal
See Bloomberg story
See Reuters article
See TheDeal.com: Gores takes Siemens unit (subscription required)
