Siemens Sells Cell Phone Unit to BenQ

Siemens said on Tuesday it was selling its mobile phone unit to Taiwanese tech firm BenQ, in exchange for a 2.5-percent stake in the company and an undisclosed sum of money. Siemens has been struggling to turn around its ailing cell phone division, which has accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

BenQ will retain the Siemens brand name for five years, along with any current sponsorship agreements. The move is expected to give BenQ more market exposure, along with doubling its annual revenues. "With this partnership we have found a sustainable perspective for our mobile phones business. BenQ and Siemens complement one another ideally," Siemens CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said in a statement.