Mercedes planning to take over McLaren?

But Dennis only owns 15% of the company. Daimler, manufacturer of Mercedes and owner of 40% of McLaren, is the largest shareholder. Getting Dennis’ stock would give it absolute control over the company as the majority shareholder.
 
Which may be exactly what Daimler wants, given the troubles that Dennis’ tenure as boss has caused both the team and its engine supplier, Mercedes-Benz. Not only did last year’s cheating scandal cost McLaren $100 million, but it has brought increased scrutiny of the team in the future. Ferrari ended up winning both the constructor’s and driver’s championships. Mercedes got nothing out of the deal, except for a lot of bad publicity.
 
The simplest way to prove to the FIA that the team has reformed remains getting rid of Ron Dennis. Acquiring his interest in the team would also give Daimler control of a team with proven winning ability and at a far lower price than starting over from scratch with another team. 
 
In the end, of course, Mr. Dennis lasts only as long as any of the other shareholders want. Any one of the other shareholders has enough stock and voting power to combine with Daimler and vote Dennis out of his management position and off the board of directors. Or, for that matter, sell enough of their stock to Daimler to give it 51% of the outstanding shares. The Bahranian government owns 30% of the team and a businessman, Mansour Ojjeh, the principal of TAG, owns the remaining 15%. 
 
While figuring out what the 11% required to give Daimler absolute control is worth might be a bit tricky, it’s doable. The only question is the price.
 
That means that Dennis’ position is not particularly secure, and his bargaining power isn’t all that great, either. 
 
In the last analysis, it seems likely that Daimler can count on the backing of the Bahranian government in making its move, when it decides the time is right. Daimler has a history of ties to Arab business and government interests. Together, the governments of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates own almost 10% of the outstanding Daimler shares. To say that the ties with Arab interests are cozy substantially understates the point.
 
Will Daimler make a change?
 
Wouldn’t you?