Crazy Like A Fox

摘要

It almost seems that General Motors' strategy is to scour the globe to find the biggest losers in the automobile industry so that it can sink money into them. Already in Asia there is its 49% piece of Isu/u Motors, the moneylosing Japanese truckmaker. There's also GM's 20% stake in Fiat, the Italian automaker whose bonds recently flirted with junk status (see "Backseat Driver," p. 53). The latest on the welfare rolls is Daewoo Motor Co., the bankrupt South Korean automaker best known for its militant unions and melting market share. Daewoo certainly comes cheap, with GM paying $251 million for a 42.1% stake (that's half a day's revenue for GM). But the bargain price is only part of what makes this a potentially smart move.