IPIC Refutes Schaeffler/Conti Acquisition News

The Abu Dhabi government-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) denied on February 12 it was negotiating to acquire a share in Schaeffler or its 49.9 per cent owned subsidiary Continental. In a statement, IPIC managing director Khadem al-Qubaisi said “this speculation has surfaced recently in the German media. We are quite surprised that this has arisen at all.”

The managing director’s statement counters news published in the Hamburg, Germany based Financial Times Deutschland newspaper on February 11 that IPIC was considering buying a stake in Schaeffler or Conti. “There has been no contact between IPIC and either Schaeffler or Continental, nor does IPIC intend to open a dialogue with either company, so there is no truth whatsoever to this rumour,’ al-Qubaisi said.