According to German magazine Der Spiegel, BMW and Daimler are working on a plan to swap shares in order to shore up their businesses during one of the most severe downturns the automotive industry has ever seen.
The deal calls for BMW to take a 7 percent stake in Daimler and for Daimler to also take the same share in BMW stock. The Quandt family, one of Germany's richest dynasties which owns 46 percent of BMW, are opposed to the deal but cannot stop it. The family fears that Daimler will attempt a takeover of BMW as they did previously with Chrysler after first calling the DaimlerChrysler deal a "merger of equals."
The two premium automakers, both hit hard by the current crisis in the industry, will also shortly announce a plan to cooperate on purchasing components, in a move that will save both companies hundred of millions of euros in the short-term.
Der Spiegel also reported that the German government has been informally approached and asked to look at whether there are any anti-trust issues with the deal.