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Bilfinger Berger unloads Aussie construction unit

German construction firm Bilfinger Berger said Tuesday it would sell Australian unit Valemus to development group Lend Lease for €801 million.

Published: 21 December 2010 14:11 CET
Updated: 21 December 2010 17:48 CET
Bilfinger Berger unloads Aussie construction unit
Photo: DPA

The net sale price amounted to AUD$1.060 billion (US$1.060 billion) said Bilfinger Berger, Germany’s second largest construction company, in a statement.

“The transaction is subject to approval from the Australian antitrust authorities and completion is expected in the first quarter of 2011,” the statement added.

The German firm will have to repay an intra-company loan of €125 million to Valemus.

“The sale of Valemus Australia, which will generate an output volume of over €3 billion in 2010, is a significant step for Bilfinger Berger in the reduction of the company’s construction business as planned,” said the firm.

Bilfinger said it would reinvest the proceeds in its services business, such as running airports.

AFP/mry

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Emergency numbers fail in several German states

Callers to the emergency numbers 110 and 112 weren’t able to reach operators Thursday morning in several German states.

Published: 11 November 2021 09:37 CET
The 112 emergency number on an ambulance.
The 112 emergency number on an ambulance. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Boris Roessler

The emergency number 110 for police and 112 for fire crews failed around the country early Thursday morning, with callers unable to reach emergency operators for urgent assistance between about 4:30 am and 5:40 am local time.

The Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Aid is looking into these outages, which were reported in states including Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg, and  Brandenburg, and in major cities like Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, and Frankfurt. Cologne was further affected by cuts to electricity, drinking water, and regular telephone services. Lower Saxony also saw disruptions to the internal phone networks of police and hospitals.

Emergency services are not reporting any more disturbances and people should be able to once again reach 110 and 112 around the country as normal.

Investigators are looking into the problem, but haven’t yet established a cause or any consequences that may have happened due to the outage. Provider Deutsche Telekom says they have ruled out the possibility of an attack by hackers.

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