Did Siemens AG buy a pig in a poke – the German’s, ever literal, call it a cat in a sack, which of course is what a pig in a poke usually turns out to be – when it bought Atlantic Richfield Co’s Arco Solar Power subsidiary in Camarillo, California for $35.9m in 1990? The Mnchener is suing Atlantic Richfield for nearly $150m, alleging that the company knew that the products the unit was developing would never be commercially viable, and according to the Wall Street Journal citing electronic mail messages, one of which says that as it appears the development is a pipe dream, let Siemens have the pipe, and another that says We will attempt to finesse past Siemens the fact that we have had a great deal of trouble in successfully transitioning technology from the laboratory to the factory; Atlantic Richfield denies attempting to mislead Siemens over the unit.
