The Peugeots Strike Back Against Their Government

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

The Peugeot family is on war footing with the French government. It “hit back at suggestions by a government official that its members have favored their own financial interests over the development of the family-controlled auto maker,” says the Wall Street Journal. Basically, the family followed the line of argument suggested by TTAC.

After French industry minister Arnaud Montebourg accused the family of collecting dividends while PSA was in trouble, the family said “Quels dividendes, Monsieur?”

Not too surprisingly, the family argues that no dividend was approved in three of the past four years. It also added that the €78 million ($96 million) dividend it received for the 2010 financial year was less than the family’s contribution to this year’s capital increase.

The industry minister is not amused. Said Montebourg:

“We have a real problem with Peugeot’s strategy, the alliance with GM, and the behavior of its shareholder.”

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

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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