Eine Kleine Shopping Spree

MUNICH, March 23--Bertelsmann AG, the international media company, announced its intention to purchase Random House, the American publishing giant, sparking a debate on foreign ownership of the U.S. book industry.

STUTTGART, May 7--Daimler-Benz AG, the automotive giant, announced that it will purchase Chrysler in a move that will reshape the auto industry. A flurry of articles appear on the difficulties of merging corporate cultures.

HAMBURG, June 20--Siemens AG, the appliance and electronic giant, announced plans to purchase the Mr. Coffee Co. Siemens indicated that the company’s most popular American product will henceforth be called “Herr Mr. Kaffee.”

MUNSTER, July 24--Deutsche Grammophone AG and Suddeutsche Radiofunken AG announced a joint takeover of Disney’s film division. In a separate announcement, Disney unveiled plans for its next animated feature film, a full-length adaptation of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle. Disney’s ABC division distributed an internal memo forbidding the network’s owned-and-operated television stations from airing syndicated reruns of “Hogan’s Heroes.”

HEIDELBERG, Sept. 1--The University of Heidelberg AG announced the acquisition of Harvard University. In a late afternoon press conference, Harvard’s Polish Studies Department issued a strongly worded protest over the development. Harvard’s provost issued a written statement promising “peace in our time.” The name of the new university will be Harvard AG.

HANOVER, Sept. 10--Hanover United Soccer AG announced plans to buy the New York Yankees from owner George Steinbrenner. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani’s office has invited German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to New York for the Yankees’ final game in the city. In a symbol-laden ceremony, the lederhosen-clad Giuliani will cheer the team for the last time and lead the crowd in a Bronx cheer directed toward New Jersey.

FRANKFURT, Sept. 14--The Frankfurter Zeitung announced the acquisition of USA Today, adding that it intends to quickly divest itself of certain divisions of “the nation’s newspaper,” including the color printing plants, the photo department and the graphics department. The news sparked a run on shares of Gothoscript Inc. AG, a Northern Virginia graphics firm that specializes in Germanic typeface.

EISENACH, Oct. 5--BMW Motorcycles announced its intention to purchase the Harley-Davidson Co. A company spokesman noted that most Harley riders “are already wearing our kind of helmets.”

MANNHEIM, Oct. 7--Following the failure of the German chemical giant BASF to acquire DuPont Chemical, the state of Rheinland-Pfalz has prepared a bid for the state of Delaware, with an option to purchase the eastern half of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

MUNICH, Oct. 12--Hofbrauhaus AG chose the historic setting of its central Munich beer hall to announce the acquisition of American beer giant Adolph Coors Co. Hofbrauhaus will shorten the company’s name to Coors and will redirect the Coors Foundation toward liberal causes.