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 compani ...

assets acquired by

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

in 1989. Today most of these units are part of

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

while some units are now part of

EADS Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

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. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an electrical good ...

(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 A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

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 ...

(GPT).

Acquisition of Plessey, and Siemens Plessey : 1989-1997

In 1989, GEC and

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the posit ...

set up a joint

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

, 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 manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (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 Marconi Electronic Systems Limited (MES), or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of General Electric Company (GEC). It was split off from GEC and bought by British Aerospace (BAe) on 30 November 1999 to form BAE Systems. GEC ...

(MES). The DASA acquired assets became part of

in July 2000 when DASA merged with the French

Aérospatiale-Matra Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

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) u ...

(CASA) of Spain. Siemens Traffic Controls continued to operate as a unit of Siemens which later became part of Siemens Mobility before being sold to Mundys under the new name Yunex Traffic.

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