In my opinion piece From The Dashboard in Manila Times tomorrow, August 8, 2023, you will find that I wrote about a number of rumours circulating in the automotive industry lately.
One of those will be the information posted on social media and a digital motoring site that claimed car brand BYD will be taken over by the Ayala automotive division AC Motors.
Frankly, I did not think this news was worthy of a scoop because information like this, if not handled properly, may be the cause of disruption to whatever negotiations were ongoing at the time.
Even if it was a scoop (as the guy who came out with it thinks it is) most business reporters would wait for the proper documentation of such corporate moves for fear of any legal implications it may cause the corporate entities involved and the publication the story will come out with.
Now, before I get into that, I would like to say that the possibility of the acquisition by Ayala of the BYD brand is highly probable after the silence of the Ayala people on the matter and an indefinite disclaimer by BYD.
AC Motors executives have not responded to my inquiries and STAR Motors (distributor of BYD locally) head Mark Tieng replied with a SMS that goes “We do not comment on speculation.”
Last Saturday I got an invitation to a “press briefing” on August 11, 2023 by AC Motors to discuss their move towards electrification. Maybe you can see the same signs I see with this invitation.
Now, why would Tieng reply with a vague statement and AC Motors refuse to say anything?
First, the negotiation at the time might have not been completed and it was at the critical junction of “yae or nay”, that no one wanted to put in a disruptive factor like a media statement (which is always the case).
Second, Ayala Corporation, being a publicly listed company, will need to announce any and all acquisitions at the floor of the Philippines Stock Exchange before making any public pronouncements.
Leaking such information may cause accusations of insider trading that could impact them negatively. And even if they publicly deny that, it will be very hard to convince some groups (competition?) otherwise.
So when I said veteran reporters shy away from such overzealous reporting when it comes to this kind of corporate news, I really meant it could cause trouble for both the subjects and the writer of the article.
