Siemens， Europe's largest engineering group， is to strengthen its core automation division by paying $3.5bn to buy private equity-owned UGS as it seeks to show it has not been paralysed by bribery allegations.

　　Details of the plan emerged as the German conglomerate suffered a fresh blow yesterday when the European Commission ordered it to pay a record $522m fine for its “leadership role” in a price-fixing cartel.

　　Last night the company was also considering whether to float its VDO car-parts division.

　　歐洲最大的工程集團西門子將通過出資35億美元收購UGS公司來強化旗下核心的自動化業務，因為它正試圖表明自己沒有受到賄賂指控的影響。

　　昨日，這項計劃的細節公布之時，這家德國企業集團又遭打擊，歐盟委員會命令其交納5.22億美元的罰款，因為它在一個價格壟斷集團中起到了“帶頭作用”。

　　據知情人士透露，昨晚，西門子還考慮是否要將旗下威迪歐(VDO)汽車部件公司上市。