Joe Kaeser, chief financial officer, said the German industrial conglomerate "would very much welcome an active involvement" by such funds. "We are very open to anyone who would want to join us as an investor," he told the Financial Times.

The prospect of an SWF taking a large stake in a company as prominent as Siemens could prove politically contentious in Germany, where the growing influence of the funds has been heatedly debated.

Just last week, the cabinet adopted a bill that would allow the blocking of non-European investors trying to buy a stake of more than 25 per cent in a German company.

But such a deal could boost business opportunities in some of the world's fastest-growing regions for Siemens. Its interest in such a move has increased since last month, when US rival General Electric announced a deal with Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's increasingly powerful investment vehicle. Peter Löscher, Siemens' chief executive and a former GE manager, was particularly struck by the deal.

Mr Kaeser said the GE agreement, under which Mubadala will buy a stake in GE and create an €8bn ($12bn) joint venture with the company's finance arm in the Middle East, was admirable. "That has been a meaningful and smart move," he said.

While Mr Kaeser declined to say exactly which funds Siemens was seeking a deal with, he said they included those from the Gulf and other regions such as Russia. Siemens is already co-operating with Alexey Mordashov, the Russian steel magnate, in a joint venture that builds power plant components.

Mr Kaeser, who has been talking to Gulf investors since he became chief financial officer in 2006, said: "Those regions have proven to be very efficient with their capital and that is something we in Siemens could benefit from."

An investment in Siemens by an SWF would mark a cultural break at the German group, whose managers have long been wary of having a single, large shareholder.

The company's share price has fallen by almost a third this year, and its lack of a large, anchor investor makes it more vulnerable to activist investors or rivals.

Any political reaction to an SWF deal with Siemens is likely to depend on the source of the investment.

By Daniel Schafer in Frankfurt

© Financial Times 2008

 

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