Car wars

Car wars



Car wars: Continental is battling with US firm TRW
Car wars: Continental is battling with US firm TRW

Continental, the German auto parts group, is appealing to protectionist sentiment in Germany in its battle with US firm TRW for Siemens' auto parts subsidiary VDO.

Chief executive Karl-Thomas Neumann said in an interview that certain key industries and technologies "must not be lost" to foreign investors.

A combination of Continental and VDO would create "a company active in one of those key sectors that would be among the top five in the world", he told the Financial Times Deutschland.

Politicians are also wading into the VDO bidding war, with the regional state premier of Lower Saxony saying he favoured a sale to a German company rather than a potential foreign investor.

Sources say Continental is prepared to pay up to €11bn (£7.4bn) for the unit.

www.telegraph.co.uk