lkchris
Active member
Here's an interesting new article:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,511193,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,511193,00.html
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Quandt Family Owns BMW
- Thread starter lkchris
- Start date
mika
Still Wondering
IIRC, in the late '50s BMW was in a major bind. No cash for new product R&D, staff, training and manufacturing. The Isetta license had been taken on as one way to generate sales and cash but could not supply enough on its own. Motorcycle sales had been strong but declining as Germans began their recovery and could afford cars again. Isetta had been a bridge but the cage segment needed to come out with new products to meet the changing demands of the time.
Daimler was the shark in the water considering a hostile take over. IIRC their first run at BMW began in 1957 or shortly after. The BMW board went hunting for a cash infusion and found it in the Quandt family. The article places their involvement in 1960. I thought it was 1959 after a series of ramp up infussions/investments in BMW by the Quandts. Close enough. While BMW is a publicly held company the Quandts own a very large share and essentially controlled the board after that. In recent years the descendants with how to manage the ownership among them and what their financial goals are.
Spiegel, along with others, has had a long running look at the impact of the Hitler years on Germany in general and in how things from that time still impact the culture and businesses of Germany. The Quandts involvement in that era had largely stayed below the radar until the last couple of years.
Interesting stuff, thanks for the post.
Daimler was the shark in the water considering a hostile take over. IIRC their first run at BMW began in 1957 or shortly after. The BMW board went hunting for a cash infusion and found it in the Quandt family. The article places their involvement in 1960. I thought it was 1959 after a series of ramp up infussions/investments in BMW by the Quandts. Close enough. While BMW is a publicly held company the Quandts own a very large share and essentially controlled the board after that. In recent years the descendants with how to manage the ownership among them and what their financial goals are.
Spiegel, along with others, has had a long running look at the impact of the Hitler years on Germany in general and in how things from that time still impact the culture and businesses of Germany. The Quandts involvement in that era had largely stayed below the radar until the last couple of years.
Interesting stuff, thanks for the post.
