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Germany’s Manager Magazin, citing unnamed company sources, reported on Thursday that Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech had met with the owners of Fiat-Chrysler about the possibility of buying all or part of their newly formed alliance.
Both parties were quick to kill those rumours, however.
A spokesman told Reuters that Volkswagen currently has no takeovers on the agenda and is instead focusing on improving efficiency within the various branches of the company.
Meanwhile, the Agnelli family, whose holding firm Exor owns a 30% stake in Fiat-Chrysler, denied any talks took place.
The magazine also hinted at "diverging views" between Volkswagen's management and the supervisory board about the automaker's future course, as well as a succession plan for both Piech, who is 77, and CEO Martin Winterkorn, 67.
If you remember, Winterkorn said in March that Volkswagen, despite hoarding almost $24 billion in cash, had no plans to expand the group through acquisitions as it was focusing on integrating its 12-brand network.
The German automaker also announced this week an ambitious plan to cut annual costs by $7.3 billion until 2018, since profitability gains don't match its steadily growing sales.
Source: Reuters
Germany’s Manager Magazin, citing unnamed company sources, reported on Thursday that Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech had met with the owners of Fiat-Chrysler about the possibility of buying all or part of their newly formed alliance.
Both parties were quick to kill those rumours, however.
A spokesman told Reuters that Volkswagen currently has no takeovers on the agenda and is instead focusing on improving efficiency within the various branches of the company.
Meanwhile, the Agnelli family, whose holding firm Exor owns a 30% stake in Fiat-Chrysler, denied any talks took place.
The magazine also hinted at "diverging views" between Volkswagen's management and the supervisory board about the automaker's future course, as well as a succession plan for both Piech, who is 77, and CEO Martin Winterkorn, 67.
If you remember, Winterkorn said in March that Volkswagen, despite hoarding almost $24 billion in cash, had no plans to expand the group through acquisitions as it was focusing on integrating its 12-brand network.
The German automaker also announced this week an ambitious plan to cut annual costs by $7.3 billion until 2018, since profitability gains don't match its steadily growing sales.
Source: Reuters