PARIS — Russian conglomerate AFK Sistema may acquire a 20-percent stake in German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG (Munich, Germany) for about 1 billion euros ($1.46 billion). Discussions are also underway to buy Altis Semiconductor SA, a joint venture between Infineon Technologies AG and IBM Corp., according to Kommersant daily reports.
"They have been and they are in talks with Sistema every now and again," an Infineon spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.
However, the press report indicated that Infineon's spokesman declined to comment on the nature of the talks between the German and the Russian company. The Infineon spokesman just said discussions with Sistema are currently not at a concrete stage.
The Kommersant reported that Russia's Sistema is seeking to buy Altis Semiconductor in Corbeil-Essonnes, France, for 150 million euros. The site currently employs 1,500 people.
In December 2008, Infineon Technologies AG stated that it had not succeeded in selling off its stake in Altis Semiconductor SA, which in August 2007 it said it would sell to a Russia-connected company based in Switzerland.
At that time IBM Corp. and Infineon said they had agreed to divest their shares in Altis Semiconductor with its manufacturing site in Corbeil-Essonnes via a sale to Advanced Electronic Systems AG (Zurich, Switzerland).
Sistema is a public diversified corporation in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Sitronics, for instance, is majority owned by Sistema.
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