Siemens Plessey was the name given to the

Plessey The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compan ...

assets acquired by

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

in 1989. Today most of these units are part of

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenue ...

while some units are now part of

EADS Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

History

Background : before 1989

The history of the evolution of Siemens Plessey division traces to 1988, when the UK regulatory authorities rejected a full merger between the British-based industrial conglomerate -

General Electric Company plc The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 25 ...

(GEC), and the

company - a historic British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company founded in 1917. Plessey was at the time the second largest defence electronics contractor to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

and the largest supplier of traffic control equipment. As a solution, GEC and Plessey merged their communications businesses the same year to form

GEC Plessey Telecommunications GEC Plessey Telecommunications (GPT) was a British manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, notably the System X telephone exchange. The company was founded in 1988 as a joint venture between GEC and the British electronics, defence and t ...

(GPT).

Acquisition of Plessey, and Siemens Plessey : 1989-1997

In 1989, GEC and

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

set up a joint

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

, GEC Siemens plc, to launch a hostile takeover of Plessey, which succeeded. Most of Plessey's assets were divided between the companies (see : Plessey#Break-up of the business); except the 1988 founded GEC-Plessey joint venture - GPT, which was converted to a '60/40 GEC/Siemens joint venture'. The division of Plessey between these two partners meant the deal met with little regulatory opposition. Siemens acquired Plessey's radar systems, defence systems and traffic control businesses. The defence electronics operations became Siemens Plessey Systems (commonly referred to as Siemens Plessey) and Siemens Plessey Electronics Systems (Australia). In 1997, Siemens came to an agreement with

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

and

DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG ''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a "servant of God", "devotee," " votary" or ...

(DASA) for the takeover of its defence electronics unit. BAe acquired the Siemens Plessey's defence businesses in UK, while DASA acquired the German part of the operations.

Subsequent history : 1997 - to date

The BAe acquired parts were eventually amalgamated into

- formed by the 1999 merger of BAe and Marconi Electronic Systems (MES). The DASA acquired assets became part of

in July 2000 when DASA merged with the French

Aérospatiale-Matra Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

and

Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1923 and began manufacturing aircraft the following year. In 1999 it became a subsidiary of the EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) ...

(CASA) of Spain. Siemens Traffic Controls continues to operate as a unit of Siemens.

References

{{Siemens Defunct companies of the United Kingdom Companies established in 1989 Companies disestablished in 1997 Plessey

History

Background : before 1989

Acquisition of Plessey, and Siemens Plessey : 1989-1997

Subsequent history : 1997 - to date

See also

References