Services conglomerate Sistema is not talking to Infineon about taking an equity stake in the German chipmaker, a source at Sistema said Friday, denying a newspaper report.
“An idea of the partnership between Russia and Germany in the IT sector is being considered. Sistema is not taking part in the talks with Infineon,” the source said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday, after talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, said she saw potential for German-Russian cooperation on Infineon and its Qimonda memory chip unit. Medvedev said Russia was considering investing in Infineon and Qimonda, adding the investments would help speed up reforms in Russia’s own economy.
Kommersant earlier reported Sistema could take an equity stake in Infineon as part of an alliance between the two firms, and quoted a source as saying the talks between the two leaders would focus on the fate of the insolvent Qimonda, in which Infineon holds a 77.5 percent stake.
The article did not provide any information regarding the volume of any Russian investment in Infineon.
“Discussions about a possible future partnership are taking place at a high political level,” an Infineon spokesman told the newspaper, adding German economy minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg had discussed the matter with Russian colleagues.
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