8chan/8kun QRB Posts (1)
#56644 at 2021-05-25 15:54:59 (UTC+1)
QRB General #226: Tuesday Morning Melania Edition
Volkswagen Receives ?7.5 Billion Bid For Supercar Brand Lamborghini, Autocar Says
A consortium connected to the family of the late Volkswagen Group strongman Ferdinand Piech has made a stunning ?7.5 billion unsolicited bid to buy Automobili Lamborghini.
The deal would come with five-year parts supply contracts with Lamborghini's nominal parent, Audi, and with five-year job security for middle-to-senior managers. The Volkswagen Group's official position on Lamborghini has long been that the Italian supercar maker is not for sale, though it is not averse to offloading brands, with Bugatti set to change hands, and Ducati known to be for sale.
The non-binding purchase offer, revealed in British magazine Autocar, was sent by the Quantum Group AG to Volkswagen Group CEO Dr Herbert Diess and his management team two weeks ago.
With no history of automotive manufacturing, Quantum Group is headed by Rea Stark, a co-founder of Piech Automotive, which debuted its Piech Mark Zero GT at the Geneva auto show in 2019. The other co-founder was Anton Piech, the son of the late Dr Ferdinand Piech, who sold his Volkswagen Group holdings to the rest of the Porsche family before his death last year.
Piech Automotive looks like a holding station for former Volkswagen Group executives, with former CEO Matthias Mueller on board as well as others, though it's not known if the Piech family is involved in the bid. Quantum Group has put together a consortium with London's Centricus Asset Management.
It has come as news to Lamborghini CEO Stefan Winkelmann, who returned to the post last year after reviving the brand from obscurity from 2005 to 2016 before moving to Audi Sport and Bugatti. Winkelmann even received the Italian title of Grand Officer in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his services to Lamborghini.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltaylor/2021/05/25/volkswagen-recieves-75-bid-for-supercar-brand-lamborghini/?sh=7c3a2c6d56d9