Infineon Transfers Ownership of Its Wearable Electronics Activities to Interactive Wear AG iG in a Management Buy Out
Joint Press Release from Infineon and Interactive Wear
Wessling / Munich, Germany June 3, 2005 Within the framework of a management buy out (MBO), Infineon Technologies AG has turned over its activities in the area of wearable electronics to the company Interactive Wear AG iG of Wessling, Germany. Infineon had conducted research on the integration of electronic functions into textiles and developed this technology to the point that it is ready for the market. Nevertheless, it has discontinued these activities as part of its strategic restructuring and concentration on its core business. As part of this MBO, which has now been completed, the rights to Intellectual Property (IP), such as patents and licenses, now belong to Interactive Wear, along with developmental hardware and software and the existing customer base as well as the parts inventory and the finished wearable electronics products. The parties involved have agreed not to make the purchase price public.
By spinning off its wearable electronics activities, Infineon is following through on its strategy and is concentrating on its core business, said Dominik Asam, Corporate Vice President for Strategy, Investor Relations and Mergers & Acquisitions at Infineon Technologies AG.
Infineons former head of engineering for wearable electronics and current CTO at Interactive Wear, Markus Strecker, is participating in the MBO. This specialist for sensor technology played a substantial role in the efforts that turned research results into marketable products. The MBO is being supported by former partner companies, consultants and industry insiders. Andreas Röpert will assume the role of chief executive officer, and Ms. Awa Garlinska will chair the supervisory board. All the people serving in Interactive Wears management have been in contact with Infineon (or with Siemens, before it spun off Infineon) for many years or have served as executives in that company.
Andreas Röpert, Interactive Wears CEO, comments: We are delighted that the acquisition of Infineons wearable electronics activities went so smoothly. We will now concentrate our consulting, development, production, and sales efforts fully on one business - wearable electronics. Thanks to the technological head start and network of partners that we acquired from Infineon, and to the extremely positive market appraisal from various analysts, who anticipate a market volume of up to one billion US dollars for technical textiles in 2008, we see excellent market opportunities and developmental potential for our company.
In order to ensure continuity right from the start for all of the wearable electronics activities, Dr. Stefan Jung, the former head of Infineons activities in this field, has been appointed to Interactive Wears supervisory board. Furthermore, Interactive Wear will employ additional members of Infineons technical team.
Interactive Wears company headquarters are located in the Application Center in the Technology Park in Oberpfaffenhofen (Wessling), Germany, which is being subsidized by the State of Bavaria as part of its high-tech offensive.
The companys first official appearance will take place from June 7 9, 2005 at the Avantex 2005 International Forum for Innovative Apparel Textiles trade show, which is organized by Messe Frankfurt. Interactive Wear can be found there at Hall 3, Level 1, Walkway A, Stand 07.
Wessling / Munich, Germany June 3, 2005 Within the framework of a management buy out (MBO), Infineon Technologies AG has turned over its activities in the area of wearable electronics to the company Interactive Wear AG iG of Wessling, Germany. Infineon had conducted research on the integration of electronic functions into textiles and developed this technology to the point that it is ready for the market. Nevertheless, it has discontinued these activities as part of its strategic restructuring and concentration on its core business. As part of this MBO, which has now been completed, the rights to Intellectual Property (IP), such as patents and licenses, now belong to Interactive Wear, along with developmental hardware and software and the existing customer base as well as the parts inventory and the finished wearable electronics products. The parties involved have agreed not to make the purchase price public.
By spinning off its wearable electronics activities, Infineon is following through on its strategy and is concentrating on its core business, said Dominik Asam, Corporate Vice President for Strategy, Investor Relations and Mergers & Acquisitions at Infineon Technologies AG.
Infineons former head of engineering for wearable electronics and current CTO at Interactive Wear, Markus Strecker, is participating in the MBO. This specialist for sensor technology played a substantial role in the efforts that turned research results into marketable products. The MBO is being supported by former partner companies, consultants and industry insiders. Andreas Röpert will assume the role of chief executive officer, and Ms. Awa Garlinska will chair the supervisory board. All the people serving in Interactive Wears management have been in contact with Infineon (or with Siemens, before it spun off Infineon) for many years or have served as executives in that company.
Andreas Röpert, Interactive Wears CEO, comments: We are delighted that the acquisition of Infineons wearable electronics activities went so smoothly. We will now concentrate our consulting, development, production, and sales efforts fully on one business - wearable electronics. Thanks to the technological head start and network of partners that we acquired from Infineon, and to the extremely positive market appraisal from various analysts, who anticipate a market volume of up to one billion US dollars for technical textiles in 2008, we see excellent market opportunities and developmental potential for our company.
In order to ensure continuity right from the start for all of the wearable electronics activities, Dr. Stefan Jung, the former head of Infineons activities in this field, has been appointed to Interactive Wears supervisory board. Furthermore, Interactive Wear will employ additional members of Infineons technical team.
Interactive Wears company headquarters are located in the Application Center in the Technology Park in Oberpfaffenhofen (Wessling), Germany, which is being subsidized by the State of Bavaria as part of its high-tech offensive.
The companys first official appearance will take place from June 7 9, 2005 at the Avantex 2005 International Forum for Innovative Apparel Textiles trade show, which is organized by Messe Frankfurt. Interactive Wear can be found there at Hall 3, Level 1, Walkway A, Stand 07.
About Interactive Wear AG iG
Interactive Wear AG iG is active in the integration of electronic components and systems into textile products. At its disposal is one of the worlds leading platforms for wearable electronics technology. The company has positioned itself as both an electronics specialist for the textile industry and a textile specialist for the electronics industry. As a one-stop shop with a solid claim to market leadership, Interactive Wear covers all developmental and production phases in the wearable electronics area - from consulting to custom development projects and all the way to the delivery of complete products that are ready for volume sales. For OEMs and ODMs, Interactive Wear supplies tailored production solutions. Besides fashion trends, the target markets primarily include sportswear and healthwear, safety clothing and protective workwear. Further information is available at http://www.interactive-wear.comAbout Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for automotive, industrial and multimarket sectors, for applications in communication, as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates through its subsidiaries in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2004 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 7.19 billion with about 35,600 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at
http://www.infineon.com.
Press Contact for Interactive Wear
Andreas Röpert
Interactive Wear AG iG
Phone ++ 49 8153 / 281945
andreas.roepert@interactive-wear.com
Press Contact for Interactive Wear
Andreas Röpert
Interactive Wear AG iG
Phone ++ 49 8153 / 281945
andreas.roepert@interactive-wear.com
Information Number
INFCPR200506.062