Siemens, the large German technology firm, sold Audiology Solutions, based in Singapore, to a business group that was formed for that purpose. Audiology Solutions was a small business within Siemens but the sale illustrates the internationalization of the business world. Siemens will retain a 200 million euro interest in the new firm and a seat on its board.
Audiology Solutions, which produces hearing aids, was sold to EQT which is a European private equity firm, and Santo Holding which is an investment vehicle for the Strungmann family. EQT was advised by Bain & Company which is a US based private equity firm. It received legal advise from an international law firm. Santo Holding received legal advise from an international law firm. The financing for the deal was provided by Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and UBS.
Siemens is a very large multinational corporation with worldwide subsidiaries. Audiology Solutions was only a small piece of a very large international firm. The interesting part of the deal is how the business services industry has internationalized. Bain & Company is a private equity firm that was started by Mitt Romney in the US. The law firms that were used to put the deal together specialize in cross border legal issues. The large German, US and Swiss banks that provided the financing for the deal are experienced partners on such deals. The only part of the deal that was not mentioned in this article was the international accounting partnership that would have participated in the deal. The business services industry has adapted much faster to the new world order than the governments of the nation states which have not been as deeply involved in structuring the global economy.
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