****OT***
FOCUS-Suharto son won't sell Lamborghini-spokesman
Reuters Story - June 01, 1998 02:09
%ID %DE %IT %EMRG %AUT %MRG %POL VOWG.F MYMS.KL V%REUTER P%RTR
(Adds denial of newspaper report, background)
By Andrew Marshall
JAKARTA, June 1 (Reuters) - The youngest son of Indonesia's
former President Suharto has no immediate plans to sell his
majority holding in Lamborghini, his spokesman said on Monday,
after a newspaper report said Volkswagen was buying the
stake.
Mochamad Ircham told Reuters a report in the Bisnis
Indonesia newspaper that Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra would sell
his 60 percent stake in the Italian luxury sports car maker to
VW was false.
"He has no plans to sell his stake in Lamborghini," said
Ircham, spokesman for Mandala Putra's PT Timor Putra Nasional
car company. He added that Mandala Putra was, however, on the
lookout for investors to inject extra funds into Timor.
Ircham said he had been misquoted by Bisnis Indonesia, which
quoted him as saying the Lamborghini stake was being sold to
provide extra cash for Timor.
The remaining 40 percent stake in Bologna-based Lamborghini,
one of the world's most prestigious sports car names, is held by
Malaysia's Mycom Bhd .
Car industry analysts have speculated VW could be interested
in Lamborghini after the German firm's chairman Ferdinand Piech
said he was looking at possible luxury acquisitions on top of
his bid for Britain's venerable Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Since Suharto's resignation on May 21, his family have faced
calls to return some of their wealth and their business
interests have come under close scrutiny.
Shares in Suharto-linked companies have been hit by heavy
selling pressure, with investors fearing favourable treatment
the companies may have received in the past is over and they now
face a much harsher business environment.
Mandala Putra's Timor car project, launched in 1996 to
produce an Indonesian national car, came under fire even before
Suharto's resignation because of its exemption from import duty
and tax, which made it about 60 percent cheaper than other cars
in its class in Indonesia.
Timor car showrooms were targeted during the riots which
ravaged Jakarta this month, along with other properties and
businesses linked to the Suharto family.
Lamborghini last month denied reports that it was about to
be sold to VW's Audi subsidiary, although Audi has said it has
been discussing co-operation with the Italian firm.
Unions at Lamborghini say the company needs a rapid capital
infusion or could collapse. They have urged Lamborghini's owners
to come up with 80 billion lire ($45.5 million) in funding to
stop the business going bust. |
