Gottlieb Daimler had long been suffering from a heart condition. In winter 1892/93 he fell ill again and was sent to Florence in the spring to recuperate. Here he was reunited with Lina Hartmann, who he had previously met through friends in Cannstatt. His first wife, Emma, had died on 28 July 1889 and the urbane Lina Hartmann, 22 years his junior, made such an impression on him that he decided to marry her. The wedding took place on 8 July 1893 in Schwäbisch Hall.

Daimler's deteriorating heart condition started to have a detrimental effect on his handling of DMG. In 1893, he rejected an offer to acquire shares of DMG which would have guaranteed him a majority holding. This may well be due to doubts he had in the future prospects of the company. The growing tension between Daimler on the one side and Lorenz and Duttenhofer on the other eventually led to them effectively excluding Daimler as a shareholder after demanding the settlement of debts run up by DMG to the tune of 400,000 marks. They threatened Daimler with bankruptcy if he failed to do this and gave him only one other option: to sell them his stake in the company and the rights to his inventions at a price of 66,666 marks. In order to avert bankruptcy, Daimler reluctantly agreed. However, getting rid of Daimler did not bring the company any more luck. Technical progress evaporated as the balance sheets began to make increasingly depressing reading.

Maybach turned down an offer Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft made to him in 1895, saying that he would not return without Daimler. It is unlikely that Duttenhofer would have agreed to this demand had a new set of circumstances not forced a change of heart. Thanks to the success of the Maybach-designed Phoenix engine, Daimler engines had gained international recognition. A group of British industrialists were looking to acquire the license rights to this engine for Britain. They were prepared to pay a stunning 350,000 marks – but only on the condition that Daimler returned to the company.

The return of Daimler and Maybach brought about an unexpected reversal of fortune. Daimler's stake in the company was returned to him. His position on the Supervisory Board was one of expert advisor and general inspector. Maybach was appointed Technical Director of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft on 8 November 1895 and also received shares.

For Maybach, the main priority was to rebuild the competitiveness of DMG based on technical progress and reliable products. An important basis was provided by the designs developed in the Hotel Hermann. Gottlieb Daimler died five years later on 6 March 1900.