Daimler, the company that owns Mercedes-Benz and 20 percent of Chrysler , is working on a plan to prevent any takeover attempts, German reports are saying. The company is apparently considering finding an anchor investor that could block a full takeover.
The Deutsche Bank is advising Daimler on the proceedings regarding this, according to a Financial Times Deutschland report that does not reveal its sources. The concerns come after a German ball-bearings manufacturer, Schaeffler Group, made a shock takeover last month for auto supplier Continental, gaining 36 percent of its shares without telling the authorities.
This and the fact Daimler’s value has fallen by a whopping 45 percent since the beginning of 2008 is leading many to believe Daimler is susceptible to a similar sneak attack.
“The supervisory board has very intensively discussed the topic of hostile takeovers,” an unnamed source reportedly told the German daily paper.
This week’s other reports have Swedish investor Cevian Capital buying shares in Daimler, though the car company says there is no evidence of a hedge fund investor building up stock.
