BERLIN, July 13 (Reuters) - Russia is still talking to the German government about taking a stake in German chipmaker Infineon and further talks are planned, a German government official said on Tuesday.
A Russian bid for a 29 percent stake in Infineon through holding company Sistema has been mooted since late 2009, although details over the frequency and depth of the talks, and how a deal would be structured, remain opaque.
'There will be high-level talks in the next months,' said the official, who declined to be named.
An Infineon spokesman, however, said: 'We are in no talks.' Although anyone could buy shares in the chipmaker, the spokesman said, the foreign trade law would apply to any attempt to buy into Infineon.
Germany's foreign trade law allows the German government to prohibit or restrict investments by foreign private and public investors in 25 percent or more of the voting rights in a German company.
The law was designed to protect German companies from foreign takeovers.
In response to the news of talks, Infineon shares rose 4 percent to 5.24 euros, outperforming the German blue-chip index DAX, which was up 1.8 percent.
In December 2009, telecoms-to-oil conglomerate Sistema's president said the company was in talks over becoming a partner in the Russian state's possible acquisition of a stake in Infineon.
Russia wants to diversify its economy away from natural resources, and high technology is one of its priorities.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in the summer the state was considering investment in Infineon.
Sistema had said in September it had considered buying into Infineon's additional share issue but had decided against it, and was no longer planning to buy its assets.
Several years ago, Sistema had also expressed interest in taking a stake in German telecoms group Deutsche Telekom but that plan was never carried out.
German carmakers are wary of Russia holding a share in Infineon, Europe's largest supplier of automotive chips.
'The Russian plans are to be viewed with some scepticism,' a source close to a large German carmaker said.
An investor owning near 30 percent would basically dominate the company and that would bear the risk that Infineon's technology would deteriorate in the mid-term due to lack of investment into research and development, the source said.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Jens Hack in Munich; Writing by Nicola Leske; editing by Simon Jessop) Keywords: INFINEON/SISTEMA (nicola.leske@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1214; Reuters Messaging: nicola.leske.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
A Russian bid for a 29 percent stake in Infineon through holding company Sistema has been mooted since late 2009, although details over the frequency and depth of the talks, and how a deal would be structured, remain opaque.
'There will be high-level talks in the next months,' said the official, who declined to be named.
An Infineon spokesman, however, said: 'We are in no talks.' Although anyone could buy shares in the chipmaker, the spokesman said, the foreign trade law would apply to any attempt to buy into Infineon.
Germany's foreign trade law allows the German government to prohibit or restrict investments by foreign private and public investors in 25 percent or more of the voting rights in a German company.
The law was designed to protect German companies from foreign takeovers.
In response to the news of talks, Infineon shares rose 4 percent to 5.24 euros, outperforming the German blue-chip index DAX, which was up 1.8 percent.
In December 2009, telecoms-to-oil conglomerate Sistema's president said the company was in talks over becoming a partner in the Russian state's possible acquisition of a stake in Infineon.
Russia wants to diversify its economy away from natural resources, and high technology is one of its priorities.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in the summer the state was considering investment in Infineon.
Sistema had said in September it had considered buying into Infineon's additional share issue but had decided against it, and was no longer planning to buy its assets.
Several years ago, Sistema had also expressed interest in taking a stake in German telecoms group Deutsche Telekom but that plan was never carried out.
German carmakers are wary of Russia holding a share in Infineon, Europe's largest supplier of automotive chips.
'The Russian plans are to be viewed with some scepticism,' a source close to a large German carmaker said.
An investor owning near 30 percent would basically dominate the company and that would bear the risk that Infineon's technology would deteriorate in the mid-term due to lack of investment into research and development, the source said.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Jens Hack in Munich; Writing by Nicola Leske; editing by Simon Jessop) Keywords: INFINEON/SISTEMA (nicola.leske@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1214; Reuters Messaging: nicola.leske.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.