Statements from the companies
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Statements from the companies
July 8, 2006
Statements from the companies
GM's statement
The General Motors Board of Directors today endorsed a recommendation by the company's senior management that it engage in exploratory discussions with Renault and Nissan regarding GM's potential participation in an alliance among the three companies.
"The GM Board of Directors authorized management to proceed with its plan to consider ideas the other two companies have and to weigh the potential benefits of such an alliance in order to assist the Board in its decision making," said GM Director George Fisher. "Management will keep the Board well informed and the directors, of course, will closely monitor the process to assure that its outcome serves the best interests of all GM shareholders. The Board continues to fully support the company's North American turnaround strategy, and we encourage management to also continue its efforts to conclude a satisfactory resolution of the issues associated with the Delphi bankruptcy and to complete the pending GMAC transaction."
The Board action was taken in response to a request made by Tracinda Corporation, one of GM's larger shareholders, and to expressions of interest made public by the respective boards of Renault and Nissan.
GM Chairman Rick Wagoner will lead the company's effort to conduct exploratory talks with the managements of Renault and Nissan.
"General Motors has a lot of experience with different types of alliances, and some have provided significant benefits to GM's competitive position and financial strength," said Wagoner. "We will enter into discussions with the managements of Renault and Nissan with an open mind -- eager to hear their ideas of how an alliance between our companies might work to our mutual benefit. Given the complexity of any potential relationship, it has to be carefully considered on its merits before coming to any conclusion. We are committed to an objective and thorough review of that potential."
Wagoner noted that when the idea of joining an alliance with Renault and Nissan was first suggested to him, he promptly contacted Carlos Ghosn and the two leaders agreed to meet at a mutually convenient time to have an initial exploratory discussion.
"We periodically receive interesting proposals and we owe it to the company and its shareholders to explore how they might work, and to objectively weigh the potential benefits and issues that each might present," Wagoner said. "That is exactly what we recommended to the GM Board in this specific case, and exactly what it has agreed we should do."
In the meantime, both Wagoner and Fisher noted that it is crucial for General Motors to stay focused on implementing its North American turnaround strategy.
"We announced this strategy about one year ago, and have made tremendous progress in implementing all the key initiatives," Wagoner said. "The positive results from these major actions are already evident. We have some major items that we are working on right now that are important to our continued progress, including the Delphi restructuring and the GMAC transaction. So there's plenty more work to do to return our North American operations to sustained profitability. We remain focused on achieving this as quickly as possible."
Renault's statement
"As we have previously stated, the Renault and Nissan boards have both agreed to begin exploratory discussions with GM. Following the decision of the GM board, the conditions are now in place to begin these discussions."
Nissan's statement
"As previously stated, the Boards of Renault and Nissan have both agreed to begin exploratory talks with GM. We look forward to starting the discussion process soon."
Tracinda's statement
"Tracinda is pleased that the General Motors Board of Directors has agreed to explore the invitation by Renault and Nissan to discuss joining their partnership-alliance. We believe that the upcoming meeting between Mr. Wagoner and Mr. Ghosn is a good first step, but a full and objective evaluation of this unique opportunity will require establishment of a Board committee that receives independent financial and legal advice."
Source: General Motors via PRNewswire
© Copyright 2006 The Detroit News. All rights reserved.
Statements from the companies
July 8, 2006
Statements from the companies
GM's statement
The General Motors Board of Directors today endorsed a recommendation by the company's senior management that it engage in exploratory discussions with Renault and Nissan regarding GM's potential participation in an alliance among the three companies.
"The GM Board of Directors authorized management to proceed with its plan to consider ideas the other two companies have and to weigh the potential benefits of such an alliance in order to assist the Board in its decision making," said GM Director George Fisher. "Management will keep the Board well informed and the directors, of course, will closely monitor the process to assure that its outcome serves the best interests of all GM shareholders. The Board continues to fully support the company's North American turnaround strategy, and we encourage management to also continue its efforts to conclude a satisfactory resolution of the issues associated with the Delphi bankruptcy and to complete the pending GMAC transaction."
The Board action was taken in response to a request made by Tracinda Corporation, one of GM's larger shareholders, and to expressions of interest made public by the respective boards of Renault and Nissan.
GM Chairman Rick Wagoner will lead the company's effort to conduct exploratory talks with the managements of Renault and Nissan.
"General Motors has a lot of experience with different types of alliances, and some have provided significant benefits to GM's competitive position and financial strength," said Wagoner. "We will enter into discussions with the managements of Renault and Nissan with an open mind -- eager to hear their ideas of how an alliance between our companies might work to our mutual benefit. Given the complexity of any potential relationship, it has to be carefully considered on its merits before coming to any conclusion. We are committed to an objective and thorough review of that potential."
Wagoner noted that when the idea of joining an alliance with Renault and Nissan was first suggested to him, he promptly contacted Carlos Ghosn and the two leaders agreed to meet at a mutually convenient time to have an initial exploratory discussion.
"We periodically receive interesting proposals and we owe it to the company and its shareholders to explore how they might work, and to objectively weigh the potential benefits and issues that each might present," Wagoner said. "That is exactly what we recommended to the GM Board in this specific case, and exactly what it has agreed we should do."
In the meantime, both Wagoner and Fisher noted that it is crucial for General Motors to stay focused on implementing its North American turnaround strategy.
"We announced this strategy about one year ago, and have made tremendous progress in implementing all the key initiatives," Wagoner said. "The positive results from these major actions are already evident. We have some major items that we are working on right now that are important to our continued progress, including the Delphi restructuring and the GMAC transaction. So there's plenty more work to do to return our North American operations to sustained profitability. We remain focused on achieving this as quickly as possible."
Renault's statement
"As we have previously stated, the Renault and Nissan boards have both agreed to begin exploratory discussions with GM. Following the decision of the GM board, the conditions are now in place to begin these discussions."
Nissan's statement
"As previously stated, the Boards of Renault and Nissan have both agreed to begin exploratory talks with GM. We look forward to starting the discussion process soon."
Tracinda's statement
"Tracinda is pleased that the General Motors Board of Directors has agreed to explore the invitation by Renault and Nissan to discuss joining their partnership-alliance. We believe that the upcoming meeting between Mr. Wagoner and Mr. Ghosn is a good first step, but a full and objective evaluation of this unique opportunity will require establishment of a Board committee that receives independent financial and legal advice."
Source: General Motors via PRNewswire
© Copyright 2006 The Detroit News. All rights reserved.
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