Friends
No doubt Leon will post an update on the latest news to break today in Europe.
Seems
Alchemy Partners bid for Rover has crashed in flames. BMW seem to have made it
clear that
there is one month left for other bidders to come up with a purchase offer for
Rover, and
presumably the money as well - otherwise the plan is that Rover goes
'historical' - and
for good. Quite how this will affect us at Gaydon or the Ford offer for Land
Rover is not
clear.
I suspect the unions will fall heavily behind the Phoenix bid from ex MD John
Towers and
his cohorts and no doubt there will be some genteel horse-trading to save what
they can.
The threat by BMW to shut down the lot within the month, must presently be
sending some
icy shivers around the Blair administration because closure would suggest a
swing of
public focus towards "what's the government going to do about it?"
Personally, I don't see any reason at all for the British taxpayer to bale out
Rover (it
won't be the first time) except last time around it was called British Leyland
and the
volume division was the loss leader then, as now. But will government just let
it wither
on the vine? To do so would be the shot in the arm that Tony Blair's socialist
vote in the
key constituencies just doesn't need. So what will we see now? Bye bye Rover or
the
pledging of public money at zero interest to underwrite the Phoenix bid - or
what?
We shall see what we shall see - and en passant, would anyone like to receive
my Resume
:)?
Jonmac
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