The London Chronicle , December 13 th , 1905 Motorists organization created

1. The London Chronicle, December 13th, 1905 Motorists organization created Last night in the comfortable confines of the Empire Traveller’s Club in St. James’s, London, one hundred motorcar owners met over dinner to form the British Automobile Club. “Our purpose,” said Sir Cecil Ferndown, the new President, “is to protect the interest of motorists in the new age of automobile travel.”

2. The London Chronicle, December 13th, 1955 BAC celebrates 50 years with record membership travellers – from insurance to breakdown support – the BAC has been a tremendous success,’’ said the present President, Simon Philips. He added that the BAC planned to launch a series of travel guides in 1956. “I wonder what the original members would think of it all.” A party was held last night to celebrate a half century of service to motorists in the same room where the BAC was inaugurated. “With 5 million members and a range of services to all kinds of

3. The London Chronicle, May 14th, 1998 BAC likely to demutualize and be bought by French telecom giant for £1.2 billion It looks probable that after nearly a century as a member’s club, the BAC will demutualize and become a part of the French phone company, TFA. “It is a very good offer and I hope our members will vote in favour,’’ said the outgoing president, Lord Goodfellow. “As we approach the new millennium, we have to change to meet the new challenges.”

4. Internet research• Look up ‘demutualization’ and ‘mutual organization’ on the Wikipedia website at:www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia, which is an online free-content encyclopedia, is a great source of information when doing research on the Internet.

5. “I’m worried that the quality of service will go down in the search for profit.” BAC member “What does TFA know about motorists? They’re a phone company after all!” BAC member “I’m worried for my job. There is bound to be some rationalization.” BAC employee

6. “TFA will invest in the brand and develop the services on offer. Especially in the area of IT. It is a fantastic opportunity for all of us.” BAC employee “I’ve always liked the idea of the BAC being a club and I think it’s likely it will lose its identity. It’s a pity things have to change.” BAC customer “I’m definitely going to vote “yes”. I’m going to make a £5,000 windfall on my membership.” BAC member.

7. The London Chronicle, June 4th, 2004 BAC goes online The BAC announced today two new free online services to help their customers. The first is a route planner, which shows street level detail, and the second is a second-hand car buyer’s guide. “It is all part of improving services to our 12 million customers,” said a spokesman, “and shows the benefit of being part of a telecom company.” He added “We are also launching a monthly motoring magazine later in the year and an even faster breakdown service.”

8. The London Chronicle, June 14th, 2005 TFA sells the BAC After five year’s of ownership TFA has announced it has agreed to sell the BAC to JMQ, the private equity fund for £1.9 billion. TFA paid £1.5 billion for the BAC in 1998. Since then, the company has seen a growth in customer numbers and the range of services it provides.

9. The London Chronicle, 7th, October 2007 BAC to be sold – again! Private equity firm JMQ is believed to be planning to either sell the BAC business or float it on the stock market. It is said TFA want to raise £3 billion for the 15 million member business. In 2005, the BAC was bought from TFA for £1.7 billion. Subsequently there were job losses and parts of the business were sold off. Recently there have been complaints from customers about the quality of service.