Frankfurt, Germany – Following on the heels of a February 22 story reporting that Siemens might pull out  of its hearing aid unit sale due to more than a half-billion euro difference between the company’s asking price and bidders’ offers, and Reueters March 2 story that reveals Siemens might be considering alternatives to disposal of the unit, Reuters reports March 15 that Siemens has decided to scrap plans to sell its hearing aid unit because bids were too low, according to two sources who were familiar with the matter.

The formal decision will be made in the next few days, most likely on March 16 or 17, sources told Reuters on Monday, adding Siemens Healthcare chief executive Herman Requardt will inform staff members in the course of the week.

Reuters says that company sources have previously said Siemens was not willing to consider any bid below 2 billion euros ($2.75 billion).

The move means Siemens will now invest on its own in the hearing aid business over the next few years, the sources told Reuters.

A source had told Reuters this month that if the sale was called off, Siemens would have to invest around 600 million euros to grow its own dealership network and compete with rival Sonova.

[Source: Reuters]