Siemens Plans Healthineers IPO Valuing Unit at About 31 Billion Euros

Siemens will press ahead with an initial public offering of its health-care unit, as CEO Joe Kaeser unloads another key business at Europe’s largest engineering company, according to Bloomberg.

The IPO of a 15 percent stake in Siemens Healthineers is planned for March 16, the company said in a statement. Siemens expects to generate 3.9 to 4.65 billion euros from the offering. The shares will be priced in a range of 26 euros and 31 euros each.

The IPO, which may be the largest in Europe this year, values Siemens Healthineers at as much as 31 billion euros. That’s less than an earlier estimate of as much as 40 billion euros, and the offering comes amid market volatility that temporarily dampened investor appetite. A bet by Siemens Healthineers on the success of its Atellica portfolio of lab equipment and products, launched in 2017, is also weighing on the sale.

The IPO is part of a broad overhaul of Siemens by Kaeser, who also merged the wind power unit with Spanish competitor Gamesa in 2017, is combining the company’s train business with that of Alstom, and, according to people familiar with the matter, plans to sell the Flender mechanical drives operation. Kaeser has likened the moves as shifting the company from being an aircraft carrier to a nimble fleet of ships.

Siemens announced in November 2016 that it planned an IPO of a minority stake in the unit, which also sells scanners, X-ray machines and other diagnostic equipment. Healthineers posted profit of 2.49 billion euros on revenue of 13.8 billion euros for the year ended Sept. 30, according to a November statement from the parent company.