Three days after the announcement of the entry of the Chinese Li Shufu to the share capital of Daimler, emblem of the excellence of German for the automobile industry, there are growing concerns in germany on the future of this cooperation. The details of the transaction, released Monday in the German press, have aroused the astonishment of the business community, who questioned the ambitions of the actual billionaire owner of Geely, the first chinese automobile manufacturer.
The businessman, who has now nearly 10 % of Daimler, met Tuesday, the economic adviser to Angela Merkel, within the framework of a series of visits to germany. The chancellery, said a spokesman, ” sees no reason to intervene in the transaction, the latter having the character of an investment “.
Has a rough and ready way
Economic observers see things differently. Daimler has he done to enter a wolf in the sheepfold ? After initial comments highlighting the potential of cooperation in the future, several false notes are from blurring the picture.
“It is time to adopt a new way of thinking. My commitment at Daimler reflects this vision. “Li Shufu
Of course, the German group was looking for since a long time a strong shareholder, able to support them in this period of automobile revolution. Unlike BMW or Volkswagen, the manufacturer of Stuttgart does not have a shareholder of reference. For months, he was in discussion with a number of chinese players, including Li Shufu.
But according to the German press, Daimler was surprised by the amount of the shares acquired by Mr. Li. The chinese businessman would have funded its 9.69% of the share capital of the German by a complex assembly of actions and derivative products, through which he was able to escape the obligation of information with the supervisory authorities of the financial markets. By this deal spectacular, and a bit transparent, Geely is found at the head of a…
