China Likes Daimler So Much, They Bought The Company - Well, A Chunk Of It
Worried about the Chinese grabbing a piece of GM while it’s cheap? Don’t feel like the lone ranger. China is joining an illustrious circle of investors from Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and around the world and grabbed a “notable” stake in Daimler. An unnamed Chinese institutional investor has bought a chunk of Daimler, as their CFO Bodo Uebber told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), which sent an advance copy to Reuters.
This is first time an institutional investor from China has invested in the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicle. “Notable” the investment may be, but it’s below 3 percent. Otherwise, we would know now who put up the cash. In Germany, investors do not need to declare their holdings to the regulator unless a stake exceeds the three percent ownership threshold.
The Chinese hold Daimler (or “Benz” as they call it here) in high regard. China is already Daimler’s largest S-Class market and is well on its way to become the world’s largest market for Mercedes cars.
As far as the vaunted intellectual property goes with which the Chine supposedly will make off the minute they have their nose under the tent: At Daimler, there is more to gain than at GM. Daimler owns part of EADS, makers of the Airbus, missile, satellites and space rockets. They own MTU, Messerschmidt Bölkow Blohm and a long list of other juicy companies.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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If you can't take over the world by force, just buy it (piece by piece).
I would be interested in a cultural analysis of this purchase. One only has to visit some Asian countries to see that Western luxury goods are seen as highly coveted. Daimler can't be the most profitable car company to purchase... does the love of Western luxury goods color this purchase in any way? See Jaguar too.