By Tony Hallett, 30 June 1998 14:47
NEWS UK conglomerate, GEC is to take full control of telecoms equipment manufacturer GPT, by paying its German partner Siemens £700m for its 40 per cent stake in the company. The deal will take the form of a £610m cash payment, with GEC relinquishing its half of the Siemens GEC Communications Systems joint venture. GEC said GPT will be merged with its wholly-owned Marconi Spa subsidiary, which recorded about half of GPT's £1.2bn sales in 1997. The new group will be known as Marconi Communications. The GEC-Siemens deal will allow both companies to make independent moves on the lucrative telecoms equipment market. In recent months, GEC has sold off its semiconductor arm to concentrate on its defence, communications and electronics businesses, while Siemens has been reported to be considering a tie-up with Motorola.
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