A massive split has occurred at the top of Continental, the German car parts supplier facing an €11bn hostile bid from Schaeffler, with its chairman accusing senior executives of endangering the company’s future by opposing the offer.

Hubertus von Grünberg, Conti’s supervisory board chairman, told other directors he thought Schaeffler had already succeeded in its bid after gaining control of 36 per cent of shares and that resisting would cause huge damage to Conti as it could lead to its break-up or the loss of top managers, according to several people close to the company. He was particularly upset with the emotional tone of Manfred Wennemer, Conti’s chief executive, who dismissed Schaeffler’s bid this week as “egoistic, high-handed and irresponsible”.`