Siemens, Europe’s largest industrial conglomerate, plans to list its 40bn medical solutions division in Frankfurt, setting the stage for Germany’s largest initial public offering in more than two decades.
欧洲最大的工业集团西门子(Siemens)计划在法兰克福上市其价值400亿欧元的医疗解决方案部门，这将是德国20多年来最大规模的首次公开发行(IPO)。
The Munich-based group on Wednesday chose Frankfurt over New York for the listing of Healthineers, an imaging and diagnostics business. The supervisory board’s decision to list there — probably in the first half of 2018 — is a coup for Deutsche B?rse, which has often been overshadowed in the race for large listings by New York, London and Hong Kong.
周三，这家总部位于慕尼黑的集团选择了法兰克福（而不是在纽约）为旗下影像及诊断部门Healthineers的上市地点。此次上市很可能于2018年上半年进行，西门子监管委员会在法兰克福上市的决定对德意志交易所(Deutsche B?rse)来说是一次重大胜利，该交易所在大型上市交易的争夺战中常常无法与纽约、伦敦和香港争锋。
As part of the IPO, Siemens is expected to sell a minority stake of up to 25 per cent. That would make it Germany’s biggest listing since Deutsche Telekom’s $13bn IPO in 1996, according to Dealogic.
作为此次IPO的一部分，西门子预计将出售最多25%的少数股权。根据Dealogic的数据，这将令此次IPO成为德国自1996年德国电信(Deutsche Telekom) 130亿美元的IPO之后最大的上市交易。
The listing will be the biggest move yet for chief executive Joe Kaeser as he revamps the group’s sprawling structure. Under Mr Kaeser’s Vision 2020 plan, launched in 2014, Siemens is focusing on core industrial operations and spinning off its other divisions in what he calls a “fleet of ships” business model.
西门子首席执行官乔?克泽尔(Joe Kaeser)正在对该集团的庞大机构作出改革，这次上市将成为他迄今以来最大动作。根据克泽尔于2014年推出的“愿景2020”计划，西门子正将重点放在核心工业生意上，并将克泽尔所称的“舰队”业务模式中的其他部门分拆出去。
In the last quarter Healthineers was the largest of Siemens’ nine divisions by revenue, with sales of 3.7bn. Its 19 per cent margins also made it the most profitable. Analysts value it at around 40bn. The division is known for selling medical machines to hospitals but its high margins stem from offering services that combine hardware and software, including consulting services.
在上个季度，Healthineers是西门子九大部门中收入最高的一个，销售额达37亿欧元；它的利润率也是最高的，达到19%。分析师对其估值为400亿欧元左右。该部门以向医院销售医疗设备而闻名，但其高利润来自于提供软硬件结合服务，其中包括咨询服务。
Siemens has already merged its renewable energy unit with Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa and spun the combination off in Madrid. It is currently in the process of joining its rail division with France’s Alstom, which will then list in Paris.
西门子已经将其可再生能源部门与西班牙风力涡轮机制造商歌美飒(Gamesa)合并，并将合并后的公司在马德里上市。西门子目前正将其铁路部门与法国的阿尔斯通(Alstom)合并，完成后将在巴黎上市。
As Siemens scouted locations for the Healthineers float, it ruled London out in part because of Britain’s decision to leave the EU, three people familiar with the company’s thinking said. Siemens declined to comment on whether London was ever in the running.
据三名了解该公司思维的知情人士表示，英国退出欧盟的决定在一定程度上导致西门子在选择Healthineers的上市地点时淘汰了伦敦。西门子拒绝就是否压根儿没考虑过在伦敦上市置评。
Michael Sen, the board member responsible for Healthineers, said, “Frankfurt is one of the world’s largest trading centers for securities, and its importance will continue to increase due to Brexit. As a highly liquid trading venue, Frankfurt is attractive for investors from around the world.”
负责Healthineers的董事会成员米夏埃尔?森(Michael Sen)表示，“法兰克福是全世界最大的证券交易中心之一，由于英国退欧，法兰克福的重要性将继续提升。作为流动性极高的交易场所，法兰克福吸引着来自世界各地的投资者。”
People familar with the decision said Frankfurt was also favoured over New York because of its appeal to Asian investors and because the group also wanted to keep German unions happy. Management is already engaged in a public battle over nearly 7,000 looming job cuts in its core power unit.
了解该决定的知情人士表示，由于法兰克福吸引着亚洲投资者、以及该集团还希望讨好德国工会，法兰克福也比纽约更受青睐。因即将在核心的电力部门削减近7000个岗位，西门子管理层已经在跟公众斗争。
Another factor that hurt the US was that New York-listed companies in healthcare tend to be US-centric, the people said. Although Healthineers’ biggest market is the US, its next two biggest countries for revenue are China and Japan, and Siemens wants the group to be seen as “truly global”, one person said.
这些知情人士称，纽约的另一个不利因素是在纽约上市的医疗企业往往以美国为中心。其中一名知情人士称，尽管Healthineers目前最大的市场是美国，但其除美国外最大的两个收入来源国是中国和日本，而且西门子希望该集团被视为“真正全球化的”企业。
Analysts had speculated several months ago that New York would be the more likely location for the IPO, in part because US-listed companies in the healthcare area tend to trade at higher multiples than in Europe. At Siemens’ annual press conference this month, however, finance chief Ralf Thomas said the valuation bias favouring the US had diminished from 10 to 15 years ago. From an economic perspective, he said, there was no longer a clear reason to list in New York.
数月前分析师曾推测纽约是可能性更高的IPO地点，部分是因为在美国上市的医疗领域的企业往往比在欧洲上市的估值倍数更高。然而，在西门子本月召开的年度新闻发布会上，首席财务官拉尔夫?托马斯(Ralf Thomas)表示，从10到15年前开始，美国的估值优势已经消失了。他表示，从经济角度而言，已经没有在纽约上市的明显理由了。

Mr Kaeser told the FT then that “old-fashioned conglomerates” are “definitely not going to survive” as they digitalise their operations with software and adapt to the growth of renewable energy sources. To reporters he had also boasted that Siemens’ competitors had been “less active in shaping their strategic transformation” — a slightly veiled dig to arch-rival General Electric.
克泽尔曾在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示，“老式的综合企业……绝对无法存活下来”；企业要用软件将业务数字化，去适应可再生资源的增长。他向记者吹嘘道，西门子的竞争者“在战略转型方面不太积极”——含蓄地挤兑了宿敌通用电气(General Electric)。
Siemens has appointed Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan as lead underwriters of the deal.
西门子已经指定高盛(Goldman Sachs)、德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)和摩根大通(JPMorgan)为该交易的主要承销商。