Last Sunday we reported on the prospective 7% share swap in the works between BMW and Daimler. Today, edmund's Inside Line reports that the Quandt family, owners of 46% of BMW's stock, have quashed reports of the share swap over concerns that Daimler would attempt to control the new entity. Instead, Der Spiegel writes the companies now plan to cooperate on a much smaller scale, beginning with a joint parts-procurement deal that could net millions of dollars in savings for both. The two firms are also part of a global consortium, along with General Motors, developing hybrid powertrains and components. Der Spiegel says the BMW-Daimler negotiations are like "two porcupines trying to exchange tender caresses."
