3rd UPDATE: Volkswagen Sees Conflict Of Interest At Magna
03 Juni 2009 - 6:36PM
Dow Jones News
Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) said Wednesday Canadian auto parts
supplier Magna International Inc. (MGA) will face conflicts of
interest following the planned takeover of General Motors Corp.'s
(GM) Adam Opel GmbH unit.
"Volkswagen will monitor this development very closely,"
spokesman Michael Brendel said.
Volkswagen, Europe's largest automaker by sales, is a direct
rival of Opel.
"Tax money has been used to a large extent for Opel's rescue. We
hope that through this a sustainable and successful result will be
achieved effectively," Brendel said.
Magna wasn't available for comment.
Volkswagen, with its core VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Bugatti and
Lamborghini brands is a major customer for Magna. Magna also
supplies components to Porsche Automobil Holding SE (PAH3.XE),
Volkswagen's largest shareholder.
Last week, the German government, together with the German
states where Opel plants are located, decided to support Magna's
bid for the Ruesselsheim-based automaker through bridge financing
of EUR1.5 billion to keep it out of the bankruptcy filing of parent
GM in the U.S.
Magna has teamed up with Russia's OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS) and OAO
GAZ Group (GAZA.RS) to take over Opel and boost its presence in
Russia.
Magna Co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf said earlier Wednesday
during a press briefing at Opel's headquarters he expects to sign
off on a deal in four to five weeks, with the consortium's Opel
entry to be completed by September.
Magna's consortium plans an initial investment around EUR700
million. In terms of the plan, GM would retain a 35% stake in the
company. Sberbank would take a 35% stake as well, with Magna
holding 20% and Opel's employees with 10%.
Magna chairman Frank Stronach said he expects Opel to be
profitable again in four years and plans to export cars to Canada
from the end of 2009 onwards, AFP reported Tuesday. However, there
are currently no plans to export Opel cars to the U.S., he
said.
Speaking at a staff meeting Wednesday, Opel's top labor
representative Klaus Franz said the agreed total state-backed
guarantees of around EUR4.5 billion won't be financed by Germany
alone. The other European countries with Opel plants are expected
to contribute, depending on the respective number of staff
employed.
Opel employs around 25,000 staff at its German sites in
Ruesselsheim, Bochum, Eisenach and Kaiserslautern.
Opel is the core part of GM's European operations which employ
around 54,500 people, with manufacturing plants in Spain, Poland,
Belgium and Britain, where Opel cars are sold under the Vauxhall
brand, as well a powertrain plant in Aspern, near Vienna.
Company Web site: www.volkswagen.com
-By Christoph Rauwald, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 512;
christoph.rauwald@dowjones.com
(Nico Schmidt contributed to this article.)