GM says Magna, Sberbank to acquire Opel

• Source: Sina.com
• [08:41 September 11 2009]
• Comments

In this March 11, 2009 file photo a man passes a poster showing logos of carmaker Opel, owned by General Motors Corp., in an exhibition in the automotive museum in Eisenach, Germany. German workers and politicians waited anxiously Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 for a decision by the board of General Motors Co. on the fate of its Opel unit, with thousands of jobs at stake and national elections less than three weeks away. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, File)
 
General Motors Co. said Thursday that a consortium of Canada's Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sberbank would acquire a majority stake in its European subsidiary Opel.

The deal was cheered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who saw it as a jobs saver ahead of Sept. 27 national elections.

GM said key issues — including support from labor unions and a financing package from the German government — would have to be finalized, but it expected the deal to close in the "next few months."

Magna and Sberbank will purchase a 55-percent stake in Adam Opel Gmbh and GM will hold 35 percent. The remaining 10 percent will go to workers.

"This is what the government wished," Merkel said. "Opel still has a difficult way ahead of it, but I trust the workers will take on the task."

Merkel said talks would be held with other countries where Opel has locations would be held in the coming weeks to ensure the burdens of restructuring could be share fairly. Germany's lead role in pushing the Magna deal led to fears it would seek to protect its workers first.

"It's possible now that GM and Opel will find a new way in Europe," she said. "We've taken a big step on the way ahead. We can have a new beginning."

Merkel's government favored the Canadian-Russian consortium's bid and offered euro1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) in bridge financing in May to keep Opel afloat. Magna has promised to keep all of Opel's German plants open.