One of the recent additions to the list is car parts supplier Continental which has been in a protracted, yet-to-be completed merger with Schaeffler.

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Frank Schaeffler, a German member of parliament in the Free Democratic Party, has previously advocated the sale of uninhabited Greek islands to fund creditor repayments.

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Schaeffler, a family-owned firm that makes bearings, was almost felled by the loans it took on to take over Continental, a car-parts company three times its size.

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"There have been reports that DirecTV management discussed a plan to put in a bid and buy DirecTV themselves, " says Jimmy Schaeffler of The Carmel Group, a satellite research firm based in Carmel, Calif.

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