Ratings firm Fitch released a memo Tuesday outlining some possible problems relating to the proposed GM-PSA merger.

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Or was it GM that proposed? “General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner secretly proposed a merger with Ford Motor Co. in 2008, a year before GM’s bankruptcy filing, the New York Times reported.” That explosive revelation is made today by Bloomberg.  And OMG, Rick Wagoner turned down the deal! Isn’t anything secret sacred anymore?

Of course, TTAC goes straight to the source. Here it is! In the New York Times! (Read More…)

A lot of people assume Porsche and Volkswagen have long been united. Well they kind of are. They make cars together. They share management. Winterkorn is also Boss of Porsche SE. Former Volkswagen strategist Matthias Müller is now CEO of Porsche. Go to any tradeshow: Porsche is where Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bugatti etc. are. Porsche and Volkswagen are united in everything but the final signature. And that may wait a little longer. (Read More…)

Generally speaking, official prospectus information tends to run on the alarmist side, warning investors of any and all possible problems, regardless of how likely they are to take place. Which is why you rarely see news organizations like Reuters pick up on prospectus warnings, like today’s story on a Volkswagen warning that its merger with Porsche could be scuttled by lawsuits filed by angry hedge funds.  Porsche’s notorious “short squeeze” of hedge funds who were speculating on VW stock in the leadup to its planned takeover has drawn lawsuits in several countries which, according to VW’s recent capital increase prospectus, could: (Read More…)

The Geneva Auto Show is a great place to rub elbows, show concept cars, and plant or shoot down rumors.  BMW yesterday dismissed the view that premium carmakers would have to consolidate. This here is in the latter category.

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer said that BMW would not merge with Daimler. Or anybody else for that matter. Now who had that crazy idea? Apparently, it’s going around. (Read More…)

A few days ago, TTAC reported that PSA and Mitsubishi were looking to forge closer ties with either a cross holding format, like Renault-Nissan, or by PSA taking a 30-50 percent stake in Mitsubishi. According to Bloomberg, analysts like Oppenheim’s Jens Schattner are ruling out equity acquisitions, saying the two firms should concentrate more on co-operation. “Peugeot doesn’t have the liquidity to take a major Mitsubishi stake in cash” he says, and he’s not the only one splashing cold water on the hook-up. Eric-Alain Michelis, an analyst at Societe Generale adds that PSA may have to issue new shares to pay for that stake in Mitsubishi they want, which will not please the Peugeot family as it will dilute their holding. Otherwise, “raising the finance would not be a walk in the park,” he reminds. Were PSA to issue shares to cover €1 billion of the $3.7billion needed for a 50% stake in Mitsubishi Motors, it would reduce the Peugeot family’s investment to 25%. Quelle horror!

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“Without any doubt we knew fundamentally that [a merger with GM] would work, but only if it was a collaborative effort. Frankly, there was a possibility to create something that would be extremely competitive… unfortunately, it did not happen.”

Nissan/Renault honcho Carlos Ghosn reflects on the GM merger that might have been. When asked if he was happy that the merger hadn’t gone through, Ghosn replied “when you see the disaster and the waste of energy and skills and talent, nobody can be happy.” But was he talking about GM or the failure to merge with them? And since Ghosn has us in a reflective mood, isn’t it fun to imagine how a GM-Renault/Nissan merger might have played out?