IBM Corp and Siemens AG are stoutly defending their respective corners over the proposed transfer of Rolm Corp to the German giant. Although IBM says that the final deal will result in a global alliance with many complexities, it is adamant that the spirit of the initial December agreement still stands: it wants Siemens to take over Rolm’s main manufacturing and development centre in Santa Clara, California – though the destination of Rolm’s Austin, Texas plant is still negotiable – with marketing functions becoming part of a joint venture company. Siemens maintains that talks will result in a 50-50 joint venture covering the whole of the Rolm business rather than just the sales and marketing operation; as far as the West Germans are concerned, research, manufacturing and marketing in both Europe and the US are still subject to negotiation. Siemens says the deal may not be finalised until the end of the year. This is a far cry from the timescale envisaged when the outline agreement was announced late last year with an ind ication of definitive agreement during the first quarter 1989 (CI No 1,080).
