|
BMW rises on takeover talk
|
 |
February 18, 2000: 7:39 a.m. ET
Speculation Ford may plan to bid lifts German car maker's shares
|
LONDON (CNNfn) - Shares in BMW jumped Friday following speculation that it had received an offer for a controlling stake, even after Germany's third-biggest automaker denied that Ford Motor Co. had made an approach.
BMW (FBMW) surged 6.6 percent to 26.85 euros ($26.53) in Frankfurt, after earlier rising as much as 13 percent, amid talk that BMW's major shareholder, the Quandt family, was about to sell its 47 percent stake in the Munich-based company.
The maker of luxury cars was quick to quash the rumors.
"It's nonsense, pure speculation - the Quandt family is not going to sell its stake," a BMW spokesman said.
Speculation was sparked by Ford's announcement that it would hold a news conference Friday to unveil a European restructuring. Media reports said Ford had offered the Quandt family 50 euros per share for its stake.
Talk of a bid for BMW has emerged in recent weeks as the Munich-based company has struggled to turn around Rover, its loss-making U.K. subsidiary. Market estimates of Rover's 1999 loss are as high as 3 billion German marks ($1.5 billion), up from 1.87 billion marks in 1998. 
-- from staff wire reports
|
|
|
|
|
|
BMW
Rover
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
