We acquired the remaining 49.99% interest in Siemens Niederlande B.V., The Hague, the Netherlands, in January 2006. This company operates in the area of sales and services.

In order to reinforce our Services business in the Netherlands, we also acquired a 100% interest in the Dutch security transport company HEROS Security Nederland B.V., Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in May 2006. Afterwards, the company was renamed in SecurCash B.V. This company supplements the process chain for our Dutch outsourcing business.

We also accelerated expansion of our distribution network in Thailand and Algeria via the formation of independent companies. Our Retail Services business in Germany was bolstered with the support of Paderborn-based Wincor Nixdorf Retail Services GmbH. This company is responsible for installing and maintaining products and solutions for German retail companies.

We plan to further expand our German development facility in Ilmenau, Thuringia. Wincor Nixdorf Grundstücksverwaltung Ilmenau GmbH & Co. KG, Paderborn, will be responsible for this expansion.

All changes to the consolidated Group are discussed in the Notes to the Group Financial Statements under Methods of Consolidation.