Talks over the sale of Opel and Vauxhall will resume on Friday between General Motor’s negotiator John Smith and German state and federal ministers.
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GM’s board delayed a decision last week on whether to sell its European operations to parts maker Magna International or investment company RHJ International amid speculation that the new board may even decide not to sell at all.
But yesterday GM told Berlin that it still wants to sell a stake in Opel and Vauxhall. The move followed further pressure from Chancellor Angela Merkel – who faces a general election at the end of September – to make a decision.
Berlin has consistently backed Magna as its preferred buyer for a majority stake in Opel but according to an unsourced report in the Bild newspaper on Wednesday, Merkel’s government could be softening its stance on RHJ and would consider offering state aid to the investment company if it were able to partner strategically with a “strong, internationally operating automotive group”.
Meanwhile, Italian daily la Repubblica reported that Fiat was still interested in acquiring a stake in Opel.
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By GlobalDataFiat last May proposed extending its alliance with Chrysler to Opel, to give the group annual global production of 6m cars. La Repubblica said Fiat was “convinced” Magna International doesn’t have an
industrial plan for Opel and that the Canadian company’s offer is focused on financial and commercial aspects only.
GM has said that it will definitely announce a decision before the Frankfurt motor show which starts on 17 September.
GM cannot be too sidetracked with foreign markets because it needs to become profitable in the US and repay government loans.
Fred Irwin, chairman of the German government-backed trust created to facilitate a sale, told Bloomberg News: “They just have to get their house in order and I think they definitely know this.
“We have reasonable people that have the same goal, which is to sell Adam Opel,” said Irwin, who is also president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany. Everyone loses if Opel becomes insolvent, he added.
The other directors of the trust are Dirk Pfeil, a former state lawmaker who now represents Germany’s four states with Opel plants; Manfred Wennemer, chairman of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co’s Kion Group, and former Continental CEO, who represents the German federal government; Enrico Digirolamo, chief financial officer of GM Europe; and Smith, the GM negotiator.
Irwin, the fifth member, is regarded as neutral and doesn’t have a vote.
