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Volkwagen
bids Beetle adieu
Mexico City: 70 years after Adolf Hitler introduced
Germans to the two door passenger car that became a symbol
of the people's car in Germany, the last Volkswagen Beetle
rolled off the assembly line Wednesday.
The
Mexican government's decision to phase out two-door taxis
led Volkswagen to shut down its only remaining Beetle
production line at its plant in Puebla, 65 miles southeast
of Mexico City.
The final car in a baby blue colour marked No. 21,529,464
will go to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany, home of VW
headquarters.
Volkswagen
produced 3,000 "last edition" bugs to be sold
at Mexican dealerships for $8,000 - a few hundred dollars
more than the normal price in the same design as the original
model with a few minor changes, including whitewall tires
and a CD player.
In Germany, last edition bugs are selling for $14,900
each, while car companies in Britain have them on sale
for $16,000.
Volkswagen
of Brazil plans to import 50 last edition bugs and sell
them for $13,000.
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MGM
out of race Vivendi
Los Angeles: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc (MGM) has
withdrawn its $11.5 billion offer for Vivendi Universal's
entertainment assets saying that asking price was too
steep.
According
to a source familiar with the talks, top executives at
Paris-based Vivendi Universal told MGM they would not
accept a bid below $14 billion.
Vivendi
had already rejected MGM's bid as too low, even though
the company was offering the highest all-cash bid and
recently raised its offer by $300 million.
Vivendi
Universal Entertainment includes Universal Studios, cable
channels such as the USA Network and the Sci-Fi Network,
as well as Universal's theme parks and television production
business.
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P&G's
takeover bid for Wella cleared
by EU
Brussels: The European Commission has given the
go ahead to Procter & Gamble to take over German hair
care group Wella, the US group's largest deal ever.
P&G,
the leading US consumer products company whose products
include Tide detergent and Herbal Essences shampoo, said
the deal would moves it into the $10bn salon products
business and strengthens its colouring and styling products
business in Europe. This
marks a bitter defeat for Wella's smaller German rival
Henkel, which was in the race to acquire Wella as well.
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