Second US-German investor groups to bid on BenQ Mobile

Sentex will meet Tuesday with BenQ Mobile insolvency administrator Martin Prager and state government officials to discuss an offer that includes, among other things, a plan to position BenQ Mobile as a manufacturer of high-end mobile phones in Europe.

The offer comes on the heels of a bid presented Monday by another U.S.-German group of individuals with IT and telecommunications backgrounds, led by Hansjörg Beha, a technology investor and former IT director at Daimler-Benz AG, which has since merged to become DaimlerChrysler AG.

Beha's group, SF Capital Partners, met Monday with state government officials from North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) and Bavaria as well as other industry and labor representatives.

The group is seeking state-backed credit lines of more than ?100 million (US$130 million) and compensation for employing the 800 BenQ Mobile employees who have been transferred to a temporary organization funded by the Federal Employment Agency and Siemens AG.

No agreement was reached but negotiations will continue, the Ministry of Economics in NRW said.

Sentex, which manufacturers biometric systems, aims to retain up to 1,700 employees. The company is in discussion with several financial institutions to help fund the deal.

An official from the German labor union IG Metall said in a radio broadcast the clock was ticking on finding a buyer for BenQ Mobile. If a buyer isn't found by the end of the month, the company could disappear for good, the spokesman said.