Schaeffler is poised to take effective control of Continental this week when it collects the bulk of shares tendered after its EUR11.3bn bid.

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The hostile takeover will conclude when Schaeffler pays Continental investors EUR75 a share to raise its stake to 49.9%.


Under an agreement struck in late August with Continental’s management, the excess tendered to Schaeffler will be sold to financial institutions, which are expected to end up with about 40% of Continental, Reuters said.


The deal will come despite speculation that the financial crisis had undermined the deal.


At the end of last year Continental rebuffed rumours that it was trying to restructure its debt. Debt levels at the company are high after it took out bank loans to finance its acquisition of the Siemens VDO automotive electronics business.

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Further, Schaeffler was said to be having trouble raising cash.

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