BMW Loses Out to Volkswagen in Rolls-Royce Auction?

Volkswagen's head of operations, Mr Ferdinand Piech, visited Rolls-Royce's factory in Crewe, Cheshire, over the weekend and had three hours of negotiations with Rolls-Royce chairman Mr Graham Morris. The delegation included Lower Saxony Prime Minister Mr Gerhard Schroeder, fueling speculation that Volkswagen has won the bid to acquire Rolls-Royce. However, Rolls-Royce's owner, Vickers, and BMW are playing down the reports, saying there are no bids on the table yet.

Key Takeaways:

• Volkswagen's head of operations, Mr Ferdinand Piech, had secret negotiations with Rolls-Royce chairman Mr Graham Morris at the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe.
• The delegation included Lower Saxony Prime Minister Mr Gerhard Schroeder, suggesting Volkswagen's involvement in the acquisition process.
• Rolls-Royce's owner, Vickers, and BMW are playing down reports of Volkswagen winning the bid, stating there are no bids on the table yet.
• BMW chief executive, Mr Bernd Pischetsrieder, has accused Vickers of playing poker with Rolls-Royce's future while indicating a possible investment of £1 billion to treble the company's production.
• Volkswagen employees believe they have clinched the deal, but this remains unconfirmed.
• Bids are expected to be submitted within the next two weeks, with a decision to be made by the end of March or beginning of April.

Statistics:

• £1 billion: Possible investment by BMW to treble Rolls-Royce's production.
• 2 weeks: Expected timeframe for bids to be submitted.
• End of March or beginning of April: Expected timeframe for a decision to be made.

Sources:

• "BMW and Vickers in battle for Rolls-Royce", [The Scotsman](https://wwwismus.com/newsticker.mhtml), no date listed.
• "Why Rolls-Royce is fighting for its life", [The Scotsman](https://wwwismus.com/newsticker.mhtml), no date listed.
• "BMW in a million mile bid to win Rolls-Royce", [The Scotsman](https://wwwismus.com/newsticker.mhtml), no date listed.