Siemens AG is close to naming a venue for the stock market listing of its Healthineers medical equipment arm, with Frankfurt now favoured for the listing which could value the company at 40 billion euros ($47.5 billion), sources said on Tuesday. One source familiar with the matter said the listing would be considered by the supervisory board at a meeting on Wednesday. An announcement could follow.
Two bankers involved in preparations for the listing said no final decision had yet been taken, but added Frankfurt's chances were not looking bad. Siemens is expected to float 15-25 percent of Healthineers, which makes X-ray and MRI machines, by March of next year, sources have said. That implies stock worth 6-10 billion euros could be put up for sale.
If Frankfurt gets the listing rather than New York or London, both considered by Siemens because of their deep capital markets, it would make the share sale Germany's largest since the sales of state shares in Deutsche Telekom around the turn of the millennium. Siemens declined to comment after the Wall Street Journal first reported that an announcement on the venue of the listing could come on Wednesday. Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper also said a decision could be postponed.
The German industrial conglomerate which is seeking to simplify its structure has already appointed Goldman Sachs , Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan as lead organisers of the Healthineers IPO. A further eight bookrunner mandates are expected to be awarded soon, say sources familiar with the matter.