To borrow a bit of wording from Shakespeare, methinks Great Wall Motors doth protest too much. I predict that my former colleague Yang Jian’s story regarding GWM’s interest in FCA will turn out to be spot on. I hear from contacts in the U.S. that GWM has enlisted some high-powered consultants here to help it scope out the possibility of an FCA acquisition. Meanwhile, a source in Greater China tells me they met with GWM’s secretary and he is saying the same thing.
What we can’t figure out is how GWM would finance such an acquisition, and even if it could we doubt CFIUS would approve it. Regardless, I am going to keep on top of this story. I hear another Chinese automaker is hanging around Auburn Hills, by the way.
On to this week’s issue.
A buy sell is an extremely complex process and without extreme care it can be easy to miss some vital elements in the closing that can cost you money. In this issue, Blake Seabaugh offers some tips on avoiding common pitfalls in closing and specifically looks at vehicle inventories. He will consider parts inventories in a second column.
Also this week, Joe Aboyoun returns to our pages with suggestions for turning a dealership sale made under pressure into an opportunity. Hint: Remember, any press is good press (or at least it can be).
We also have Transaction News.
Enjoy!
