After every paper in Germany, and soon thereafter most on the globe had reported the ouster of Wendelin Wiedeking as Porsche CEO, his chairman Wolfgang Porsche belatedly came to his rescue: Friday evening, Wolfgang Porsche, chairman of the Porsche supervisory board, said that this is all wrong. In Germany’s fat weekend-editions, the denial is mentioned only in passing. Nobody seems to buy it.
What makes headlines is that Volkswagen might be first to fire Wiedeking. As representative of the 51 percent Porsche owns in VW, Wiedeking sits on VW’s supervisory board. It will meet on July 23, coincidentally when the Porsche supervisory board meets, and likewise coincidentally, both boards meet in Stuttgart. That makes it easier for two people: Ferdinand Piech is the chairman of the Volkswagen board, he also sits on the Porsche board. Wiedeking needs to report to his Porsche board, but he also needs to attend the Volkswagen board meeting.
Der Spiegel has it on good authority that Porsche’s Wendelin Wiedeking is history. The Porsche/Piech families sent Wendy packing. A new successor is already found: Michael Macht. He is director of production, and has a good reputation in the business—for producing cars. This indicates in which direction the board meeting on July 23 will go.
Want to handicap the bidding war for Opel (and German bailout money)? Then be careful in your choice of news sources.
Germany’s mass-market tabloid BILD today declares that “RHJ is in the lead” for Opel. Magna has only “slim chances” to win. BILD‘s supposed sources are in Berlin’s Ministry of Economics.
Also today, the Wall Street Journal writes: “Germany’s government sent a message to General Motors Co. on Wednesday: If GM sells its European car business to anyone other than Magna International Inc., then Germany might withdraw its offer of state aid.”
Wie bitte?Read More >
As those who have followed the Porsche-Piech soaps know, there will be an extraordinary meeting of the Porsche supervisory board next week on July 23. On the agenda: “Will we be saved by the Sheik of Qatar, or by the Sheik of Wolfsburg, or all of the above?” Any guesses? Read More >
Volkswagen’s proving grounds in Ehra-Lessien, north of Wolfsburg, is not just deadly for ducks. The secretive site turned into the scene of a bizarre accident. A driver crashes, survives, only to be killed by a colleague. The second driver is fighting for his life, Flensburg Online reports. Read More >
A few weeks ago, we cited Canada’s Globe and Mail, which wrote with great insight: “It’s entirely possible the Magna bid is in serious trouble. Indeed, the obstacles-political, economic, financial and industrial-are formidable and the negotiations are just starting . . . . Let’s just say that Magna’s bid for Opel is shaping up to be the most complicated auto deal of the year.”
Well-heeled Mercedes Gullwing carnoscenti eagerly await the Mercedes AMG SLS, the 571 HP 6.3-liter-V8 powered, 315 km/h fast reminder that there was a 300SL in the rip-roaring 50s. But what about saving the planet? Not to worry!
The Arabs, who sit on a pile of oil, must know something we do not. They suddenly show a surprising interest in electric cars. Daimler just sold part of its 10 percent stake in the alleged electric-car manufacturer Tesla to Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments, Bloomberg reports. What’s up with that?
Wendelin Wiedeking has his deal with the Sheik of Qatar. The Sheik of Qatar wants to put down €7B for 20 percent of the Porsche Holding, and for their option package that buys the Sheik 20 percent of Volkswagen. “The deal has been finalized,” Automobilwoche [sub] heard from usually indiscreet German bankers.
The Sheik’s money would nearly wipe out Porsche’s debt load, leaving only €2B to pay off. It would also mean the end of more profits than sales through derivatives, and the end of Wiedeking’s dream to get more than the 51 percent of Volkswagen Porsche currently owns. Under the deal, the Sheik would own 20 percent of Volkswagen directly, and he would own indirectly 20 percent of the 51 percent Porsche owns. Still with us? Read More >
Porsche, up to their eyeballs in €9B debt, resulting from their Davidian grab for giant Volkswagen, scheduled an extraordinary supervisory board meeting for July 23, Automobilwoche [sub] reports. On the agenda: How do we get out of this mess?
Who will end up owning Opel is turning more and more into a brawl along party lines. Officially, the seller is GM. The final arbiter will be the German government because they foot the bill to the tune of billions. Trouble is, the German government is divided. It is made up from a coalition between the center-right CDU and the center-left SPD. Both run the country. Both are on each other’s throats. Both are in a bitter fight for votes in the September national elections. Several states are also up for grabs. It’s a “super election year.” Both have their favorites. So who will it be? Read More >
But will it be accepted? As reported yesterday, China’s BAIC has handed in a better offer for Opel. This gave everybody a reason to pause. Magna called off a board meeting that had been scheduled to give the go-ahead for Opel. GM and the German government are reading intently what BAIC proposes. BAIC proposes export of Opels to China. For a while, at least. Read More >
For July 7, Magna had called a board meeting to rubber stamp the takeover plan of Opel. Now, Reuters says the board meeting has been delayed to July 14. Why, is anybody’s guess.
What is for sure is that the delay gives rival bidder Beijing Automotive (BAIC) more time to convince GM and especially the German government that their offer is better than Magna’s.
The power struggle between Wendelin Wiedeking of Porsche and Ferdinand Piech of Volkswagen has attracted other suitors. The German magazine Focus reports that three additional bidders are interested: two sovereign wealth funds (read: goverments which are tired of investing their money in T-bonds) and a hedge fund. The nationalities of the sovereign wealth funds are interesting. One is the Russian fund and the other is Chinese, says Focus. The identity of the hedge fund is unclear.
After a lot of arm twisting, and several deadlines set by the US court and the German government, the Opel deal finally is entering the final round—for now. After a suitor has been found, a French woman may spoil the whole wedding.
Recent Comments