Wheeling and dealing
October 26, 2009
According to the German news magazine Der Spiegel, Volkswagen wants to invest several million euros "in the double-digit range" in Karmann, which filed for bankruptcy protection in April. The magazine cited an unidentified VW manager as its source.
"There have been talks for some time," Karmann spokesman Roland Leithaeuser told the AP news agency on Sunday. VW declined to comment on the report.
Reuters news agency reported that VW and Karmann have been discussing a price for several weeks, but have not yet come to an agreement.
Last chance saloon?
VW sources told Der Spiegel that their offer was non-negotiable and that the fate of the company now lies in the hands of its owners. "Either they accept, or that's that," the unidentified manager said. "It would be difficult enough to put Karmann back in the black."
The three families that own Karmann -- Battenfeld, Boll and Karmann -- reportedly want a sum approaching 100 million euros -- a figure that VW sees as unrealistic.
Pietro Nuvoloni, spokesman for Karmann's bankruptcy administrator Ottmar Hermann, declined to comment on the reports. He told German news agency dpa that he did not want to influence the developments at this decisive phase.
"Karmann has its back to the wall because of the very tense liquidity situation," Nuvolini said. But he said the bankruptcy administrator was using all possible means to avert the threatened closure.
Karmann is an Osnabrueck-based independent contract carmaker and convertible roof-top specialist that employs some 1,600 workers. The company made the classic VW Karmann Ghia two-seater from the 1950s to the 1970s and has also built convertibles for Audi and Chrysler.
jg/AFP/AP/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Sam Edmonds