Listening to a BBC interview, when asked why Germany could do more tests the expert replied that Germany had a large chemical industry, with Roche at the forefront.
I wish I could ask somebody what idiocy inspired the demise of Britain's world leader, Imperial Chemical Industries or ICI. ????
Like a lot of other companies which suffered the same fate, the shareholders voted for a sell out to Azco Nobel in 2008, taking the cash offer. AN then immediately sold off parts to Henkel, splitting the company up, and absorbing the other parts into their own operations. The reason German companies are so successful is that most of them are still family owned and never allow themselves to be in a position of being outvoted by shareholders into a sellout.
But why was the offer allowed by the government?
@Petter On what grounds could they have stopped it?
@Marionville As the wise Owl (now sacked) remarks above, "Nationally important industry".
Share purchases by foreign based companies of strategically important UK industries have to be approved. (Unfortunately, such approval can sometimes take the form of shares, etc.)
Unfortunately, greed has allowed Britain's water to be controlled in many areas by the French, just for starters! Likewise, Britain's phone companies have been the subject of hotly debated take-over attempts. Orange was bought by Germany's Mannesman, and then when Vodaphone eventually managed a hostile takeover of Mannesman, it was only on condition that Orange was divested, and is now owned by France Telecom.
Vodaphone started life as a high tech British radio communications company, Racal. This then became the junior part of Racal Millicom, itself Swedish-American. Throughout these takeover battles and agreements the British government had to give approval.
So who approved the break-up of I.C.I, I wonder?
@Petter In 2008 it was Labour with Gordon Brown in government.
@OwlInASack Iām not in dispute with anything you say...but they were still a Labour Govt...that was the ticket they stood on and were elected.
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