UPDATE: German Government: Aim To Get Opel Decision By Midweek
25 Mai 2009 - 1:36PM
Dow Jones News
Germany's government aims for a decision on the three bids for
General Motors Corp.'s (GM) local unit, Adam Opel GmbH, by the
middle of the week, a government spokesman said Monday.
Ulrich Wilhelm said that Chancellor Angela Merkel had a phone
conversation with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Saturday
and met with the management of Magna International Inc. (MGA)
Sunday.
The comments come after government officials met earlier Monday
for further talks on the bidders' offers for Opel.
"This week will be a decisive week," Wilhelm told reporters,
adding that the government is still in talks with all three
bidders. The government aims for a clarification over the future of
Opel and progress in the talks have been made over the weekend,
Wilhelm said. Further investors have expressed interest in Opel,
but no formal bid has been provided, he said.
Austrian-Canadian auto supplier Magna appears to be the
frontrunner for Opel, according to recent comments from federal and
state governments. Italian automaker Fiat SpA (F.MI) has launched a
rival bid for Opel, as well as RHJ International (RHJI.BT), a
European buyout firm of investor U.S. Ripplewood with holdings in
the auto parts industry.
Merkel aims to meet the chief executive of Fiat in the first
half of this week, Wilhelm said. The government's task force has
also talked with RHJ but the firm's bid for Opel is less complex
than those submitted by Magna and Fiat, he said.
He also rejected suggestions that there might be a split within
the government over Opel's future. The comments follow recent
comments from Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, a
member of the ruling conservative parties, saying that insolvency
remains an option. The ruling Social Democratic Party has
criticized these comments, with Vice Chancellor Frank-Walter
Steinmeier calling for a stop to talking about insolvency.
Steffen Moritz, spokesman for the economics ministry, said an
orderly insolvency remains an option for Opel but the aim is to
prevent this from taking place.
The government and the states of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia,
Thuringia and Rhineland Palatinate, which are home to Opel plants,
are considering bridge financing for Opel to keep it operating if
GM files for insolvency before Opel can be sold.
The financing, which will only be given if the government and
the states regard at least one of the bid as sustainable, aims to
give Opel more time for negotiations with the potential investors.
The bridge, or interim, financing of around EUR1.5 billion would be
from state-owned bank KfW and Landesbanken of the states with Opel
plants.
The government is addressing jobs and liquidity needs in its
talks with investors while the German side is also still in contact
with the U.S. Treasury and GM over patent rights, Wilhelm said. He
left it open whether the economics ministry would send zu
Guttenberg or one of his deputies to the U.S. for talks.
Web sites: www.bmwi.de; www.bundesregierung.de
-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; +49-30-288-8410;
andrea.thomas@dowjones.com