Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, Lübeck, is to purchase the 25 percent minority stake in Dräger Medical AG & Co. KG held by Siemens AG, Munich. The Managing Board of Siemens AG approved the move, as did the corresponding bodies at Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA.

“Purchasing this stake at an acceptable price will boost group earnings in 2010. This move also reduces complexity and allows us to establish ourselves as an integrated technology group,” outlines Stefan Dräger,
Chairman of the Executive Board of Drägerwerk Verwaltungs AG. The purchase also means that the Siemens stake will go directly towards the profit generated by the medical division in the future (2008: EUR 14 million).

This will also lead to tax advantages as a result of creating a tax group (tax revenue 2008: EUR 4.5 million) as well as reduced administrative costs and savings of between EUR 10 and 15 million from pooling purchasing volumes. The buyback allows the group to enjoy all the advantages of a joint functional structure. “There is also no risk of further integration with this purchase,” emphasizes Dräger. The buyback of the Siemens stake will not spell the end of the good cooperation between Dräger and the Munich-
based company.