The IPO "is expected to be completed in the first half of calendar year 2018, subject to capital market conditions," it said in a statement. German media have speculated that Siemens will sell off a 15-to-25 percent stake in Healthineers.
They have described the flotation, expected to raise some nine billion euros ($11.2 billion), as the country's largest since Deutsche Telekom's roughly 10-billion-euro IPO in 1996. Siemens gave no such details in its statement, saying only that it will "retain a majority stake in Siemens Healthineers in the long term".
"Siemens Healthineers is now ready for its market debut," said Michael Sen, a member of the Siemens managing board. Healthineers, which makes medical devices such as X-ray machines and lab diagnostics gear, is one of Siemens' largest and most profitable divisions and a leading player worldwide in the industry. The division saw revenues of 13.8 billion euros in the 2017 fiscal year, booking adjusted profits of 2.5 billion euros - giving it a profit margin of some 18 percent, according to the stat