The final version of the pre-nup between Volkswagen and Porsche didn’t quite work out as Reuters had reported. Their sources—two supervisory board members—probably didn’t listen correctly. Shame on them. Here is the real deal:
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Category: Germany
“The New Trabi will be a stylish car with a history. It will be electrically powered because that is the trend.”
Herpa Miniaturmodelle spokesman Daniel Stiegler on his firm’s plan to jump into the car game with an EV Neo-Trabant. Stiegler went on to say that the Trab-E “will not be a retro car.” Whatever you say. Just watch out for the charging cable issues that plagued an actual car company’s “stylish EV with history.” Oh, and make it better than this.
Magna and their Russian buddies Sberbank have a deal with GM: The Austro/Canadian/Russian combine will buy a 55 percent stake in Opel. That according to Magna Co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf who just told it to Reuters.
Not so fast, says Der Spiegel. A contract with RHJ is also ready to be signed.
Then, GM will ask the German government how much they would be willing to supply in tax payer’s money for each suitor. (The chances stand at €4b for Magna, €0 for RHJ.) Then, a recommendation will be made to the GM BOD.
Then, the matter needs to be approved by various governments. Don’t kiss the bride yet.
Volkswagen and Porsche muzzled their alpha males, and the bean counters hammered out a deal. According to Reuters, “Volkswagen and Porsche have broadly agreed on details for a deal to combine two of Europe’s most storied automakers.” Reuters has it from two VW supervisory board members, so this should be pretty close to what will go down: Read More >
You think Volkswagen/Porsche was a soap opera? The sequel could be right out of Tom Clancy’s word processor: People at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg and at Porsche in Zuffenhausen cast worried eyes toward Qatar. If they don’t, they should.
Their new sugar daddy, the Sheik of Qatar just narrowly escaped a coup attempt, if Stratfor [expensive sub] is to be believed. Read More >
GM and the German government could decide by the end of the week who will take over Opel, Germany’s deputy economics minister Jochen Homann said to Reuters. That’s no improvement.
Germany hasn’t lost its newfound appetite for new cars. July registrations weren’t quite up by 40 percent as they were in June and in May. But a plus of 29.5 percent compared to the same month in the prior period is nothing to sneeze at. Still powered by Abrwackprämie, the trend to smaller cars continues its trajectory. Sales of Mini-sized cars rose 144.1 percent, subcompacts grew 67.5 percent. Anything larger: Vergiss es. Who’s the big winner?
So the GM board met last night to decide on Opel’s fate. Did we say yesterday, “You won’t hear a decision?” You won’t. They couldn’t even bring themselves to a recommendation. “General Motors is taking more time to negotiate with Magna and RHJ International over the planned sale of its European arm Opel,” Reuters reports. Anybody surprised?
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This evening, at 6pm local, the board of directors of General Motors will meet and discuss whether they should sell Opel to Magna or to RHJ. You won’t hear a decision. They will have to ask their overlords in Washington first. The German government, which is supposed to finance the deal, doesn’t take the meeting seriously anyway. Tomorrow, Tuesday, the German government will continue talks with both suitors, to get a better deal. When a final decision will be made, is anybody’s guess. “If you ask me what will happen when, then I won’t be able to give you an answer,” said a speaker of the German economics minister to Automobilwoche [sub]. Can anyone?
The longer the decision over the fate of Opel drags on, the messier it gets. Last week, three parties handed in their bids: Magna, RHJ, BAIC. Later in the week, BAIC was kicked out of the race. Remaining: RHJ, darling of GM, and Magna, darling of everybody else. Then, more facts surfaced. They didn’t endear the bidders to the decision-makers. Not at all.
No big surprises in the excruciatingly slow bidding for who will finally take over Opel with the blessing and money of the German government. AFP reports that China’s BAIC has been kicked out of the sluggish race. The field of suitors has been whittled down to Magna and RHJ.
Officially, the race is open and fair. However, it is an open secret that GM favors RHJ, while the German government roots for Magna. GM hopes to be able to buy back a washed, rinsed, and refinanced Opel from a compliant RHJ. Berlin hopes to build a Ribbentropian German/Russian automotive power pact. Says AFP: Read More >
The supervisory board of Volkswagen met in Stuttgart today, a symbolic act that documented the occupation of formerly enemy territory. The board of Porsche had pulled an all-nighter before and prepared everything for the surrender: A capital increase was approved, facilitating the entry of another party. A deal with Qatar was sanctioned. The heads of Wiedeking and Härter were presented to the victors on a titanium platter.
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The Porsche board kept busy all night. Porsche dismissed CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and CFO Holger Härter with immediate effect, Reuters reports. They were kicked out, wearing parachutes worth €50 million ($71million) for Wiedeking and €12.5 million ($18 million) for Härter. That was way below the sums discussed previously. Read More >
In a surprise announcement, Porsche Automobil Holding SE said early Thursday morning that its supervisory board approved a capital increase of at least €5 billion as part of a move toward forging a combined company with Volkswagen AG, Automobilwoche [sub] reports.
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On Monday, July 20, 2009, GM Europe accepts the last and final bids for Opel. Really. Definitely. They mean it. GM will evaluate the bids, choose a favorite, and then go on an arduous show-and-tell tour: Germany’s central government needs to be convinced, the states where Opel has plants need to be convinced, European countries where Opel has plants need to be convinced, the EU Commission needs to give its approval. The US government needs to be consulted. And then it’s up to the trustees to say “Ja” or “Nein.” So what will it be?
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