In July those at Continental AG learnt what it feels like to be victims of their own success. Only a year after it multiplied group annual sales to over 25 billion euros through the acquisition of Siemens VDO, it appears Continental has made itself so attractive to bearing maker Schaeffler Group that the privately held company (which is about a third of Conti’s size) stalked its way to controlling roughly 36 per cent of the tyre and automotive supplier (see August's Tyres & Accessories for full coverage). On the one hand this is a compliment to the leadership that has brought Continental to where it is today. But on the other hand it comes as stark warning that stock markets can be fickle and public ownership can leave you at the mercy of shareholders.

Furthermore, it could be argued that leveraging itself and courting the stockmarkets in order to achieve its ambitious goals has been a double-edged sword – and in July Conti’s management felt the sting of its own blade. In the last few years Continental has been on something of corporate shopping trip. The biggest single purchase by some way was the acquisition of Siemens, announced in July 2007. This move was perhaps the biggest step towards Conti’s vision of a “new Continental,” which would produce cutting edge tyre to brake automotive technology.