Siemens' $2.6 billion sale of hearing aid business settles down
Today, the management board of Siemens AG agreed to sell the company's hearing aid division and announced the sale to Swedish private equity firm Einto Group (EQT Partners AB). In fact, it has been widely known in the industry for some time that Siemens, which had sought to sell its hearing aid division as early as 2008, still intends to sell its $2.6 billion hearing aid business after selling its medical IT business and microbiology business unit.
EQT will pay 21 euros (about $26) for the assets to buy Siemens' hearing aid business, which Siemens was previously unable to announce because negotiations with EQT had not ended. According to the official website of Siemens Hearing, the company will sell 17 models of hearing aids, including both implants and wearable devices, as well as related wireless accessories and safety protection equipment, EQT has been looking for a turnaround after it failed in a bid to acquire Nobel Biocare, a dental implant maker, from Danaher. The acquisition of Siemens Hearing Aids appears to have led to their turnaround.
Industry insiders believe that Siemens has been able to rank No. 1 in China's market share for many years, mainly due to the popularity of the Siemens brand, but in fact, the growth rate of Siemens' hearing aid market in other countries around the world is far from being as fast as that of the Chinese market. The sale may trigger the domestic hearing aid market to rearrange the rankings, so that the original focus on brand awareness of consumers may turn to choose the quality of the real quality but not as famous as Siemens other brands, such as Rishengda, Acoustiguide hearing aids and so on. The sale of Siemens' hearing aid division should be a boon to other hearing aid brands in the Chinese market.
Siemens is Europe's largest electrical and electronics company, and CEO Joe Kaeser said the sale of the hearing aid division will help Siemens focus on electrification, automation, and digitalization strategies, regardless of what the outside world says.