On Friday, June 5, 1998 the announcement that Volkswagen AG had won the take-over battle for the ownership of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd, beating off competition from BMW AG came as some surprise.
The final decision was taken by the shareholders of Vickers plc, owner of Rolls-Royce Motors, at an extraordinary general meeting at which Chairman Sir Colin Chandler announced that 5.1m shareholders had voted in favour of Volkswagen AG and 109,000 against. The meeting had been stormy, with angry outbursts from small investors who wanted to keep the company British.
Volkswagen AG's offer had been the highest on the table - £430m - although the total consideration could be up to £470m to reflect the rise in working capital in the business. The deal meant that Volkswagen AG comfortably beat a £340m bid from BMW.
Following the sale it was necessary to address the issue of the Rolls-Royce name. The marque was then owned by Rolls-Royce Plc, the aero engines group which has strong business links with BMW and had backed its bid. In fact, Crewe had never owned these rights and since 1971 had operated under licence from Rolls-Royce Plc. The final negotiated outcome, agreed with all parties, and was that BMW would acquire the rights to the Rolls-Royce name and other trademarks associated with Rolls-Royce, including the Spirit of Ecstasy. In addition, BMW would continue to supply engines and other components to Bentley and Rolls-Royce at Crewe. From January 2003, Rolls-Royces would be built elsewhere by BMW. Of course, none of this affected Volkswagen AGs ownership of Bentley and the Crewe site.
In a funny way "Beavis" sort of way.
just phuken with ya.
