UPDATE: German Min: Magna With Interesting Plan For GM Opel
28 April 2009 - 4:43PM
Dow Jones News
Austrian-Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc.
(MGA) has presented a "first interesting, rough plan" for General
Motors Corp.'s (GM) European unit Adam Opel GmbH, German Economics
Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Tuesday.
Speaking after a meeting with officials from Magna, such as
Co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf, zu Guttenberg said the plan now
requires reliable figures. Media reports have said Magna is working
on a bid to take a stake in Opel.
Press reports have also said Fiat SpA (F.MI) is close to a deal
with Opel and it reportedly plans to keep all four Opel plants in
Ruesselsheim, Bochum, Kaiserslautern and Eisenach. The Italian
carmaker's Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has said he is open to
giving Opel "a hard look" but said Fiat has "nothing to announce"
regarding those reports.
Zu Guttenberg said he has conducted similar talks with Fiat, but
the Italian carmaker's plan lacks sufficient figures.
He called on GM to "finally present hard numbers."
"Providing these figures and facts can't be done from our side
but must most of all be done by General Motors," he said.
Talks between GM and interested investors in GM Europe and Opel
will be conducted in the coming days.
"As a result, there must be an industrial plan that will be
presented to us," he said.
Zu Guttenberg said the government is talking with "all potential
investors" and could provide state guarantees, but this depends on
an industrial plan for the company.
A person close to the talks said Magna is interested in
acquiring up to 25% in GM Europe.
-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; 49-30-288-8410;
andrea.thomas@dowjones.com