Takeover

Hyundai's CEO wants to launch the bid before Sergio Marchionne retires.

Automakers to be asked to help foot the bill for airbag recalls as private equity firm KKR moves towards a leveraged buyout of Japanese automotive supplier Takata.

There was a big shakeup in the automotive supplier market late last week, as Germany's ZF, a company well regarded around these parts for its gearboxes, submitted a surprise preliminary offer to purchase Michigan-based TRW Automotive, a supplier of safety systems, suspension components, and so on.

'Tesla needs to prove success is sustainable and that it is based on a solid financial foundation. If they do, they should be an appealing takeover target.'

Don't expect General Motors Corp. to make any new announcements regarding Saab now or in the near future, according GM spokesman Chris Preuss. According to a report in Automotive News, Preuss added that no new Saab deals are imminent with any interested parties.

We have a feeling historians will spending a fair portion of next few years finding new words to describe just how bad this year was for the auto industry. And then, at some point, they'll get around to Volkswagen, a company that has been zagging while almost all others zigged. Over the last twelve months, VW has taken a stake in Suzuki,

Despite Fiat SpA chairman Luca de Montezemolo (above) denying that his company is interested in purchasing General Motors' Opel brand, a new report by The Wall Street Journal indicates that many investors and analysts apparently find the alleged tie-up to be "far more compelling" than Fiat's proposed alliance with Chrysler. If such a deal were to be consummated, it would make F

Reuters is reporting that today, Porsche has politely asked the European Commission if it can take over Volkswagen. The short filing by Reuters goes on to state that the Commission has until July 2nd to either give the green light or look into the matter further. Naturally, we'd expect the E.C. to take its time on the matter. Porsche's ultimate plan appears to involve taking over Volkswagen without being forced to buy all of its shares. A 47-year-old German law currently prevents a Volkswagen ta

In an effort to redefine itself as the next great German monolith, "Dr. Ing. H.c F. Porsche AG" will be rebirthed as "Porsche Automobil Holding SE" during a meeting on June 26th.

One of the major players in the acquisition of bankrupt mega-parts supplier, Delphi, is Cerberus Capital Management. That name should ring familiar to anyone following the ongoing saga of the (potential) sale of Chrysler, as Cerberus is one of the three firms making a pl

The earliest reports on the "resignation" of Volkswagen group CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder indicated that while he'd be replaced as chief executive, he would be retained to take on "special assignments". What such ambiguous duties might entail was a mystery, but it's looking like he may be put in charge of managing a merger between two major European truck companies.

Fiat is increasing its stake in Ferrari, buying back the shares it sold to Italian investment bank Mediobanca during Fiat's financial troubles in 2002. The Turin-based auto conglomerate is the undisputed Don of the Italian car business, controlling Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Iveco and Magneti Marelli (to name a few), and will exercise its option to buy back the 29% currently held by Mediobanca by the end of September.

Here's Nissan's official response to the flurry of speculation caused by Tracinda Corp., Kirk Kerkorian's investment company, when it sent a letter to General Motors suggesting the automaker immediately explore joining Nissan and Renault's alliance.

Porsche AG is on its way to becoming a blocking minority stakeholder in Volkswagen AG, attempting to raise its stake in the struggling automaker by 3.9 percent of total shares to a total stake of 25.1 percent. The only thing standing in its way at the moment is clearance from the German Cartel Office.