Daimler-Chrysler Merger Case

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Business Management Corporate Governance grade: A- International School of Management Dortmund language: English abstract: Back in 1998 Daimler-Benz the German manufacturer of luxury automobiles had only captured less than one percent of the American market (Daimler-Benz AG Standard & Poor's Stock Reports. New York: Standard & Poor's Inc. July 21 1997). Meanwhile the American Chrysler Corporation was willing to extend its international reach especially in Europe. Given the circumstances both companies came to the conclusion that a merger would make sense. On May 7th 1998 the merger was officially announced as the largest trans-Atlantic merger ever. However this buyout - which could have led to the creation of the greatest car manufacturer in the world - had failed in less that ten years. On May 14 2007 the DaimlerChrysler company was already a thing of the past. Almost two years after the sale of Chrysler a question remains: Why the merger failed? If we compare a merger to a marriage we would say that they married the wrong persons. But how managers and executives from the two companies has gotten it so wrong?