Rebirth of England.

Chapter 853 Hidden dangers

The current situation is of course an excellent opportunity for Natixis to acquire Commerzbank.

If Natixis can acquire the German government's 25% stake in Commerzbank from the German government, its stake in the bank will reach 34%, making it its largest shareholder and thus controlling Commerzbank.

Of course, as the president of Natixis, Lagarde's goal is to facilitate a merger between Natixis, the third largest bank in France, and the second largest bank in Germany, which will make the merged bank one of the largest banks in Europe and gain access to a wider market and higher synergies.

However, the most important thing is the attitude of the German government. Baron knew that in his previous life, the German government had gradually sold some of their shares in the German Commercial Bank, and finally only half of the shares were left, which were also prepared to be sold in the end.

But in 2024, when UniCredit, Italy's largest banking group, was preparing to acquire Commerzbank, it was not accepted by the German government.

Of course, the situation now is different from that time. Since then, the situation of Commerzbank has improved greatly, so there is no need to sell it - except for the government's willingness to sell its high-priced shares to make a profit.

But now, German commercial banks have not yet recovered from the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis and have a considerable proportion of non-performing assets.

Coupled with the subsequent European debt crisis, many European countries' debt claims purchased by Commerzbank were put at risk.

Today, the German government's stake in Commerzbank is seen more as a liability than an asset.

If Natixis could acquire Commerzbank, it would be a way to save the bank.

In addition, there is another point, which is Lagarde’s relationship with the German government…

In this year's French election, outside of France, perhaps German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the one who is most concerned about the outcome.

Because in the previous European debt crisis, Sarkozy and Merkel represented France and Germany respectively, and their cooperation was relatively good.

Before the election, Hollande made many remarks about "France needing to re-examine its responsibilities as a country in the eurozone", which made Merkel somewhat uneasy.

After all, France and Germany are two core countries in the euro zone, and solving the European debt crisis depends on the cooperation between the two countries. If the new French government changes its attitude at this time, it will definitely not be an expected result for the euro.

Therefore, now that Lagarde, who once had a tacit cooperation with Germany, has taken office as the president of Natixis Bank and has pushed the French bank to acquire Commerzbank, I am afraid that after the change of government in France, when Germany and France need to re-establish a tacit understanding, the German government will more or less need to consider what negative impact it will have on the relationship between the two sides if it rejects this merger and acquisition.

Baron also hopes to make the German government have such concerns, which creates a good opportunity for Natixis Bank to acquire Commerzbank.

……

"When we were testing the TYPE electric coupe test car, we found that the battery cooling system had safety risks. The entire system needs to be further improved, which may delay the official release of TYPE..."

When Barron returned to London, he received this news from the British Motor Group.

Previously, Jaguar Cars, a subsidiary of the British Automobile Group, used their research and development results in electric vehicles and prepared to launch an electric coupe TYPE at the end of this year.

According to Jaguar's internal investigation, the safety hazard discovered this time occurred in the battery cooling device.

In order to cool the battery, TYPE's battery cooling system installs a coolant pipe outside the battery. However, because the aluminum material used for the terminal connection accessories is relatively soft, it is easy to wear and break during use, causing coolant leakage, resulting in battery short circuit or even fire.

It is also because of the discovery of such safety hazards that Jaguar needs to cooperate with the British Motor Group's Electric Vehicle Technology Center to find perfect alternative solutions to avoid such accidents. Therefore, it may not be possible to launch the new model within the scheduled release time.

In fact, the main electric vehicle technology framework adopted by the British Motor Group on the Jaguar TYPE is almost the same as that of Tesla's Model S - after all, the electric vehicle R&D centers of both parties can share the results of R&D.

After this safety hazard was discovered, the British Automobile Group also found the same problem on the Tesla Model S...

"We have informed Tesla of this safety hazard, but they have not yet made it public."

On June 6 of this year, Tesla delivered the first batch of 22 Model S to users. Thanks to the funds Tesla obtained before, it accelerated the transformation of its Fremont factory in California. The delivery speed of Model S is faster than before. It is expected that Tesla will be able to complete the delivery of more than 100 Model S this year.

It now appears that Tesla is choosing to keep this issue secret.

In Baron's previous life, there were reports that Tesla had discovered safety hazards in the battery cooling system of the Model S long before the Model S was delivered, but they still chose to deliver it as planned and did not immediately resolve these problems.

After all, although there are safety risks, the failure rate is not high. Tesla made this choice because it has been under tremendous pressure in the research and development of the Model S and is eager to deliver the vehicle.

However, unlike Tesla, which is still a "newcomer" in the automotive field, Jaguar itself is already a well-known automobile brand. Since such a hidden danger has been discovered, it is naturally impossible to take risks. It can only release the TYPE electric coupe after solving this problem.

"It is the right thing to do. We are not in a hurry to enter the field of electric vehicles. At present, users in this field still need to be cultivated, which can give us enough time. However, if there are safety hazards, it will be fatal to our brand..."

"What about Tesla..."

Barron understood what British Motor Group CEO Van der Hauke ​​meant.

On the one hand, British Motor Group is a major shareholder of Tesla. After the successful delivery of Model S, Tesla's stock price has risen slightly. Its current stock price has exceeded US$34. If the safety hazards of Tesla's Model S are exposed, it will definitely have a huge impact on its stock price and will also cause losses to British Motor Group.

On the other hand, when Jaguar launches TYPE, it means that the British Automobile Group will enter this track. Postponing the release of new models to solve safety hazards will also be their positive publicity for consumers, especially compared with Tesla...

"There is no need to interfere too much in their decision-making. As for the safety hazard found in the Type test car, this matter will be kept confidential for the time being."

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