Siemens silent on possible Invensys takeover

Siemens AG declined to comment on a report quoting a board member as saying that the German electronics and engineering giant is mulling a possible acquisition of Invensys PLC.

Siemens is Europe's largest electronics and electrical engineering firm with operations worldwide.

The group is also a leading global manufacturer of telecom network equipment, including mobile phones, through its Information and Communications Networks (ICM) and Information and Communications Mobile (ICM) divisions.

A spokesperson said that the company is always on the lookout for opportunities, but would not comment further.

There have been rumours for some time of Siemens' interest in Invensys.

Siemens CEO Heinrich von Pierer was cited last year as saying that he was prepared to wait for Invensys' fortunes to falter further before preparing a bid for key parts of the British company.

Siemens is also active in the semiconductor sector through a minority stake in chip maker Infineon Technologies.