March 19, 2000: After BMW sold Land Rover to Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), rumors of a Ford-BMW merger surfaced in German newspaper the Welt am Sonntag.
The newspaper, citing unnamed sources at BMW, reported that the relationship between the two companies established by the Land Rover sale would deepen because BMW was expected to continue supplying Ford with electronic components for Land Rovers.
However, while Ford was a likely front-runner had the Munich-based luxury carmaker gone on the block nine years ago, both Volkswagen and General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) were also listed as likely bidders, according to Welt am Sonntag.
The Daily Deal's Jonathan Braude at the time wrote of the report:
"There would be a certain irony in BMW coming under the Ford umbrella, the newspaper added, because Ford's director with responsibility for its luxury brands (Jaguar, Astin Martin, Volvo and Lincoln) is none other than Wolfgang Reitzle, a former BMW manager who was ousted last year due to a wrangle over the Rover purchase."
Obviously the acquisition never happened, and instead the Land Rover deal turned out to be a bust for Ford, which last year sold the marquee along with Jaguar to India's Tata Motors. However, buzz about possible BMW dealmaking continues. The two current rumors have BMW either buying Volvo from Ford, or merging with chief rival Daimler AG. - Matthew Wurtzel
Continue reading below
