Another Merger Rumor: Ford & GM
09-18-06, 04:50 AM
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Another Merger Rumor: Ford & GM
Report: General Motors & Ford Consider Merger
Executives from Ford and General Motors have discussed a possible merger or alliance, trade publication Automotive News reports in its Monday, Aug. 18, edition. The negotiations began in July after Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn broached the possibility of an alliance among Renault, Nissan and GM, according to several sources familiar with the talks. It is not clear who launched the talks. One source says GM CEO Rick Wagoner contacted Ford Motor the day after Ghosn disclosed his plan. A second source disputes that.
In August, GM CFO Fritz Henderson discussed the proposed alliance with Ford CFO Don Leclair, said a source familiar with the talks. But it is not at all clear whether the negotiations will bear fruit. As of now, the two companies are not holding talks, and one source says there is a slim chance that anything will come of it.
GM spokesman Tony Cervone declined to comment on the report.
"We regularly talk to a number of people in the industry regarding business opportunities of mutual interest," Cervone said Friday, Aug. 15. "As a matter of course, we don't comment on any of those because in many cases, they simply don't lead to anything."
Ford spokesman Oscar Suris also declined to comment.
To complicate things, GM is studying the Ghosn proposal to join the Nissan-Renault alliance. GM is two-thirds of the way through a 90-day study, which it is conducting with Renault and Nissan.
Ghosn made his proposal that GM join the Nissan-Renault alliance at the urging of Las Vegas billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, a major GM shareholder.
Executives from Ford and General Motors have discussed a possible merger or alliance, trade publication Automotive News reports in its Monday, Aug. 18, edition. The negotiations began in July after Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn broached the possibility of an alliance among Renault, Nissan and GM, according to several sources familiar with the talks. It is not clear who launched the talks. One source says GM CEO Rick Wagoner contacted Ford Motor the day after Ghosn disclosed his plan. A second source disputes that.
In August, GM CFO Fritz Henderson discussed the proposed alliance with Ford CFO Don Leclair, said a source familiar with the talks. But it is not at all clear whether the negotiations will bear fruit. As of now, the two companies are not holding talks, and one source says there is a slim chance that anything will come of it.
GM spokesman Tony Cervone declined to comment on the report.
"We regularly talk to a number of people in the industry regarding business opportunities of mutual interest," Cervone said Friday, Aug. 15. "As a matter of course, we don't comment on any of those because in many cases, they simply don't lead to anything."
Ford spokesman Oscar Suris also declined to comment.
To complicate things, GM is studying the Ghosn proposal to join the Nissan-Renault alliance. GM is two-thirds of the way through a 90-day study, which it is conducting with Renault and Nissan.
Ghosn made his proposal that GM join the Nissan-Renault alliance at the urging of Las Vegas billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, a major GM shareholder.
will freeze over.
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09-19-06, 04:08 AM
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I'm not so sure about that. The companies could make a very strong argument that the merger would both benefit the companies (and therefore the employees) and customers. Ford or GM by themselves have proven to be uncompetitive in today's marketplace. With so much foreign competition, they could argue that the ONLY way for them to stay in business is to merge. I doubt any antitrust investigator is going to want to be held responsible for hundreds of thousands of unemployment claims if the companies go out of business because he refused the merger...
09-19-06, 07:29 AM
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I'm not so sure about that. The companies could make a very strong argument that the merger would both benefit the companies (and therefore the employees) and customers. Ford or GM by themselves have proven to be uncompetitive in today's marketplace. With so much foreign competition, they could argue that the ONLY way for them to stay in business is to merge. I doubt any antitrust investigator is going to want to be held responsible for hundreds of thousands of unemployment claims if the companies go out of business because he refused the merger...
09-19-06, 10:20 AM
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I'm not so sure about that. The companies could make a very strong argument that the merger would both benefit the companies (and therefore the employees) and customers. Ford or GM by themselves have proven to be uncompetitive in today's marketplace. With so much foreign competition, they could argue that the ONLY way for them to stay in business is to merge. I doubt any antitrust investigator is going to want to be held responsible for hundreds of thousands of unemployment claims if the companies go out of business because he refused the merger...
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