De Lage Landen completes acquisition of Siemens in Hungary
Acquisition fits perfectly with De Lage Landen’s expansion policy in Central Eastern Europe
Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 8 April 2008 - De Lage Landen, a global provider of high-quality asset-based financing products, successfully completed the acquisition of Siemens Leasing Kft. and Siemens Finance Zrt. in Hungary. As of 31th March, 2008 the names of both companies have been changed to De Lage Landen Finance Zrt. and De Lage Landen Leasing. Kft. This change does not affect the employees, nor the management. Company contact information will remain unchanged. De Lage Landen already started up activities in the transportation segment in Hungary and Romania. This acquisition positions De Lage Landen very well to enter into other strategically important segments in Hungary like Office Equipment, Technology Finance, Materials Handling & Construction Equipment, Food & Agri and Healthcare. De Lage Landen’s Central Eastern European regional head office will be established in Hungary as well.
De Lage Landen’s Senior Vice President Central Eastern Europe, Frans Janssen feels that Siemens Leasing Kft., Siemens Finance Zrt. and De Lage Landen are ‘a perfect match’. ‘Both Siemens Leasing Kft. and Siemens Finance Zrt. and De Lage Landen are noted vendor finance companies and we share an interest as well as a very successful track record in similar industry segments.’ De Lage Landen’s expansion policy in Europe specifically focuses on Central Eastern Europe. Frans Janssen: ‘We have already started up activities in the transportation segment in Hungary and Romania with Cargobull Finance, our joint venture with leading trailer manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull. I am looking forward to strengthening our position in other important industry segments in this promising region. Moreover we will investigate possibilities to start up car lease activities for our subsidiary Athlon Car Lease.’
Jonathan Andrew, Head of Equipment Financing of Siemens Financial Services in Europe and Asia Pacific commented, ‘We are confident that DLL will work with Siemens in Hungary to provide competitive financial solutions to our customers. Our strategy for serving Siemens customers throughout the globe is to combine both our own expertise at a local and regional level, with that of strategic financing relationships.’
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note to editors (not for publication):
For more information, please contact:
Lineke Schouwstra, Vice President Corporate Communications
Phone: +31 (0)40 233 90 84, e-mail: L.Schouwstra@delagelanden.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Siemens Financial Services (SFS) is an international provider of financial solutions in the business-to-business market. With about 1,800 employees and an international network of financial companies coordinated by Siemens Financial Services GmbH, Munich, SFS supports Siemens as well as non-affiliated companies, focusing on the three sectors of energy, industry and healthcare. The company finances infrastructure, equipment, technology and working capital and act as a competent manager of financial risks within Siemens. By leveraging financing expertise and industrial know-how SFS creates value for its customers and helps them strengthen their competitiveness. For more information, please visit: www.siemens.com/finance.
De Lage Landen is a global provider of high-quality asset-based financing products. Headquartered in Eindhoven (the Netherlands), De Lage Landen is 100% owned by Rabobank. This Dutch bank is Triple-A rated by the major rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.
With offices and joint ventures in more than 30 countries worldwide, De Lage Landen specializes in asset financing and vendor finance programs on a worldwide scale. The global offering also includes an array of commercial finance solutions. The company focuses on the following industries: Food & Agriculture, Healthcare, Office Equipment, Technology Finance, Financial Institutions, Trucks & Trailers and Materials Handling. De Lage Landen also offers private-label leasing programs for the Banking industry, and delivers a broad range of financial services to leasing organizations and non-banking financial institutions.
In the Netherlands, De Lage Landen offers a broad range of financing products, both through local Rabobanks and directly to the market. These products include Equipment Leasing, Car and Commercial Vehicle Leasing, ICT Leasing, Consumer Finance and Factoring.
Athlon Car Lease International became part of De Lage Landen Group in 2006. Athlon Car Lease International is an international provider of operational car leasing, active in seven European countries.
In 2007 De Lage Landen grew its net profit to €234 million ($321 million) and its lease portfolio to €20.7 billion ($30.5 billion). By year end 2007, De Lage Landen had 4,735 employees.
