German conglomerate Siemens said it is preparing a public offering of its audiology unit that has the potential to become the third largest hearing aid company in the world.
The spinoff was announced earlier this week as part of a larger corporate restructuring that scales down the number of Siemens' divisions from 16 to 9. Details about the timing and pricing of the public offering were not disclosed.
"As part of its realignment, Siemens AG is preparing to publicly list its audiology activities in order to give the business an opportunity to better leverage its potential," the company said in a statement.
Though Siemens doesn't disclose financials on its hearing aid business, analysts have estimated that the unit brings in between $850 million and $1 billion in annual revenue. Based on those numbers, the Siemens spinoff company would be the third largest hearing aid company behind Sonova and William Demant.
Siemens has a long history in the audiology field, having introduced the first industrially produced hearing aid in 1913, and the first behind-the-ear device in the 1950s.
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