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Infineon was more than a new label for Siemens Semiconductors. Siemens announced the name on March 17, 1999, then transferred its semiconductor business into the separately incorporated Infineon Technologies AG with economic effect from April 1. Siemens initially retained control; Infineon’s shares began trading in Frankfurt and New York on March 13, 2000.
What the “new name” headline gets right—and leaves out
“Infineon: New Name of Siemens Semiconductors” captured the name Siemens chose for its semiconductor spin-off. But read literally, it can make the change sound like a simple rebrand within Siemens. The business was instead placed in a new legal company, which received substantially all of Siemens’ semiconductor operations. Siemens remained the initial controlling shareholder, and the public listing came later.
The distinction matters: Infineon was formed in 1999, while 2000 marks its arrival on the stock market—not its creation.
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Infineon did not begin as a start-up assembled for an IPO. Its later filings trace its semiconductor roots within Siemens to 1952. Before the separation, the operation was referred to as Siemens’ Semiconductor Group or semiconductor division; after the transaction, the legal company was Infineon Technologies AG. Infineon’s 2002 Form 20-F describes that history.
Why Siemens separated the business
Semiconductor manufacturing demands sustained investment in facilities, equipment, research and development. In its 1999 announcement, Siemens presented access to capital markets as a better way to finance the business than relying on Siemens’ internal resources. The company also said the semiconductor group had been restructured and was positioned to compete as a separate group. EE Times’ contemporaneous account described that rationale.
The move also sat within broader portfolio restructuring at Siemens. Its 1999 annual report discusses plans involving several components businesses, including semiconductors, passive components and electromechanical components. The semiconductor separation was therefore both a financing decision and part of a wider effort to reorganize Siemens’ businesses. Siemens’ 1999 annual report records the plan.
From name announcement to stock-market listing
| Date | Milestone | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Roots of Siemens’ semiconductor activity | Infineon inherited an established business history, not a newly built operation. Infineon Form 20-F (2002) |
| March 17, 1999 | Siemens announced the name Infineon Technologies | This was the naming announcement, not the effective date of the separation. EE Times |
| April 1, 1999 | Infineon Technologies AG became the separate legal entity; the contribution of the semiconductor division had economic effect from this date | This is the formation and transfer milestone. Siemens annual report and Infineon Articles of Association |
| March 13, 2000 | Infineon shares began trading in Frankfurt and New York | This was the later public-market milestone, not the company’s formation date. Infineon annual report (2002) |
March 17, 1999: the name is announced
Siemens announced that its semiconductor spin-off would be called Infineon Technologies. The company was scheduled to be officially formed on April 1. The announcement is why contemporary headlines could describe Infineon as the “new name” of Siemens Semiconductors even though legal separation was still to come. EE Times reported the announcement and planned formation date.
Siemens explained the name as combining “infinity” with “eon,” a term associated with an age or eternity. It presented the associations as unlimited possibility, perseverance, innovation and reliability. That is Siemens’ naming explanation at the time, rather than a claim that the name has one independently established linguistic meaning. EE Times covered the explanation.
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April 1, 1999: legal separation takes effect
On April 1, Siemens converted its semiconductor business into the separate legal entity Infineon Technologies AG. Infineon’s Articles of Association document Siemens’ contribution of the semiconductor division with economic effect from that date. Siemens’ annual report likewise describes the conversion and the planned listing. Siemens 1999 annual report; Infineon Articles of Association.
Separate incorporation did not mean immediate independence in ownership. Siemens planned to list Infineon while initially retaining a majority stake. So the most precise description is that Infineon became legally separate in 1999 but remained under Siemens’ control at first. Siemens’ annual report describes the planned ownership arrangement.
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March 13, 2000: Infineon goes public
Infineon’s shares were introduced to the stock market on March 13, 2000, with quotations in Frankfurt and New York. That listing gave public-market investors the opportunity to buy shares; it did not mark the first existence of the company, which had been formed nearly a year earlier. Infineon’s 2002 annual report and its SEC filing identify the listing date.
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What Siemens transferred to Infineon
Infineon was not a blank-slate company. A later SEC filing describes Siemens as contributing substantially all of its Semiconductor Group to Infineon in 1999. The inherited business included logic and memory activities, along with the operating base behind them: personnel, facilities and equipment, research and development capabilities, products, customer relationships and accumulated know-how. The SEC filing describes the transfer.
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This was a transfer of Siemens’ semiconductor operations, not all of Siemens’ electronics businesses. It would also be misleading to project Infineon’s later business mix backward onto the 1999 company: the predecessor operation included both memory and logic.
What happened to the memory business later?
Memory was part of the inherited semiconductor operation, but it did not remain within Infineon indefinitely. Effective May 1, 2006, Infineon transferred substantially all assets, liabilities, operations and employees of its former Memory Products segment to Qimonda, subject to specified regional exceptions. That later transaction is a separate chapter from Infineon’s creation. The SEC filing details the transfer and its exceptions.
Was Infineon just a new name for Siemens Semiconductors?
As shorthand, yes; as a complete description, no. Siemens announced a new name for its semiconductor spin-off, but the business was also transferred into a separate company in 1999. Siemens initially retained majority ownership, and Infineon’s public listing followed in 2000. The clearest description is: Infineon Technologies AG was created in 1999 as the separately incorporated successor to Siemens’ semiconductor division, then taken public the following year.
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