Siemens chooses five bidders for Yunex division – Handelsblatt

BERLIN (Reuters) – Siemens has chosen five bidders for its mobility signalling division Yunex Traffic and given them until just before Christmas to make an offer, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Sunday.

The five bidders are Cubic, belonging to Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital; Italian toll operator Autostrade; financial investors KKR and Bridgepoint, and Czech investment group PPF, according to the report.

The offers lie between 550 million and 600 million euros, it said, citing several sources close to the matter. The business operates in more than 40 countries and has annual revenue of 600 million euros ($726 million).

Siemens said by email it had no comment.

The German engineering company changed the name of the mobility signalling unit to Yunex Traffic from Siemens’ Intelligent Traffic Systems in February as part of preparations for a possible sale.

Siemens has been simplifying its business in recent years, separating and floating its energy and health equipment divisions as it seeks to become a more focused technology company and lose the conglomerate discount that has weighed on its stock price.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; editing by Barbara Lewis)