Bankruptcy of Mitsubishi Looming - Searches for Buyer

[ragingfish]

Quote »MMC asking around for buyer of U.S. operationsStruggling Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is quietly seeking a buyer for its U.S. operations, implying the company intends to leave the world's biggest car market, the Asian Wall Street Journal reported Friday.Mitsubishi Motors' new president, Osamu Masuko, traveled to Detroit in January to begin talks with potential buyers during the North American International Auto Show, the business daily said, citing people familiar with the matter.Masuko was accompanied by Yasushi Ando, head of Tokyo-based investment fund Phoenix Capital Co., which holds a 21.2 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors, the sources were quoted as saying.Masuko and Ando met privately with several industry executives, including representatives from U.S. private equity fund Ripplewood Holdings LLC, the paper said.Ripplewood did not show much interest in Mitsubishi Motors' U.S. operations, the sources were quoted as saying.The talks mainly focused on Mitsubishi Motors' assembly plant in Normal, Ill., and its North American sales unit in southern California, the paper said.If Mitsubishi Motors withdraws from the U.S. market, it would be the first major foreign automaker to do so in more than a decade, according to the daily. French auto manufacturers PSA Peugeot-Citroen SA and Renault SA, and Japanese automaker Daihatsu Motor Co. pulled out in the late 1980s and early 1990s.The Japan Times: Feb. 19, 2005(C) All rights reservedhttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/cg...4.htm

[kostby]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »The talks mainly focused on Mitsubishi Motors' assembly plant in Normal, Ill., and its North American sales unit in southern California, the paper said.BTW: I IM'ed Ragingfish about this. He's probably still laughing, but ...OK GenVibers! Here's our chance!If we can come together to send Kari to NYC, we can surely scrape up just a few more bucks to buy Mitsubishi!We could turn the huge DiamondStar plant in Normal IL into a aftermarket bodykit factory, a turbo-kit manufacturer, a wheel & tire warehouse, custom electronics installer, a really good food court, AND have plenty of room left over for a Virtual Vibe-O-Rama Amusement Park! West Coast Genvibers can make over the SoCal Sales Unit into an office playground out there and sell the stuff we make in the midwest!C'mon, there are over 2800 registered Genvibers. For the tiny personal investment of just a tad more than US$1-million each (US$2.8 billion), we should be in business! Let the bidding begin!

[ragingfish]

Umm...*opens wallet*...here's $37...that's all I got right now...do you have a payment plan?

[ColonelPanic]

I'll chip in a couple bucks if I can have a service bay devoted entirely to my Vibe...

[tnpartsguy]

I got $37 too.......37.....odd you mention that......or am I WAY too interested in Kevin Smith films?PS, $37 is as high as I'll go for Mitsu......and I better get a car out of the deal....Mitsubishi says U.S. unit not for saleMitsubishi Motors, in its third year of falling U.S. sales, was forced to deny a report in the Asia edition of the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Mitsubishi is trying to sell its plant in Normal, Ill., and its U.S. sales company. Mitsubishi Motors, which announced a revitalization plan January 28, has "no plan to sell our U.S. plant nor U.S. sales operations," company spokeswoman Dotty Diemer said.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by tnpartsguy »I got $37 too.......37.....odd you mention that......or am I WAY too interested in Kevin Smith films?ha ha! And you should get at least two cars for that kind of money. Wonder what's up with the conflicting information? Is Mitsu's US arm trying to do damage control? Or, are they really going to try to stick around here?

[Kari]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I'll chip in a couple bucks if I can have a service bay devoted entirely to my Vibe... I figure if we get enough manufacturing plants in the deal, we could just start manufacturing 03-04 Vibes...