Conti: 'We're exploring options'

An early report from Bloomberg stated that the company was in the “early stages” of a review of the company structure with the aim of becoming more flexible. The review was however said to be “wide open” and that no decision have been made. Continental has now responded to the media reports confirming that the company is indeed looking at different alternatives to become a more flexible company. “We confirm that we are in the early stages of analyzing how our organization can become even more flexible in response to the fast changing environment in the automotive industry. In this process we are supported by external advisors. As of today it is wide open, if and which changes could result from these early evaluations. To date there are no plans which could be submitted for approval,” the company writes in an update. Reports have mentioned a possible breakup of the automotive supplier, running the tire business as its own company, but as of now all of this is pure speculation.