efehrenbach
04.Nov.2009 06:58 hrs
http://edition.cnn.c...e.ft/index.html
GM has abandoned sale of Opel to Canada's Magna and Russia's Sberbank
Move is blow for the German government, which has spent months in negotiation
German government asking repayment of a $2.2 billion bridging loan GM has abandoned its planned sale of Opel to Canada's Magna and Russia's Sberbank . The surprise move will be an embarrassment for the German government which has expended a lot of political capital on the controversial deal.
The Local
04.Nov.2009 07:00 hrs
US automakers General Motors on Tuesday scrapped an on-again, off-again plan to sell its big European division, Opel, which had triggered a political and diplomatic controversy.
The surprise announcement by GM on Tuesday dealt a blow to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she visited Washington after having backed the move to sell Opel to a venture led by Canada's Magna as the best way of saving jobs in Germany.
Berlin reacted with dismay and Merkel has asked that her cabinet meet on Wednesday.
"The German government regrets the decision," government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said in a statement.
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krakp
04.Nov.2009 07:45 hrs
Interestingly the decision has been takes just after the German elections...........
Small Town Boy
04.Nov.2009 08:42 hrs
Well that's just saved the German taxpayer €4.5 billion of illegal subsidy.
Portnoy
04.Nov.2009 08:52 hrs
No it hasn't small town boy. Where do you think GM is going to get that euro 3 billion. This is the best thing to happen to opel but the months of back and forth are entirely Merkel's fault -- and she should be held accountable. Magna was an awful choice and would have meant the end of Opel and the fact that she pushed that in order to get re-elected is abhorrent.
Allershausen
04.Nov.2009 10:03 hrs
Not necessarily, the money was on offer to anyone who rescued Opel, as GM were technically bankrupt they may be able to get their hands on the cash to "rescue" Opel themselves.
spleenteam
05.Nov.2009 16:23 hrs
Yeah, but it was quite clear that the German govt favoured only Magna. They didn't even want to talk to the Belgian private equity company.
Probably for the best really - Opel working with Magna was never going to work out. Magna is big, but not big enough, and it's difficult to see what the Russians were going to bring to the party.
GM never really wanted to sell, and now they don't have to.
Interesting too that it has happened after the election.
jmjdk
11.Nov.2009 17:06 hrs
For all the brew hahaha that went on during the on again off again sale, It was GM choice whether to sell or not, not the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to sell. I can not think that the Magna deal would have served the Opel company very well over the long haul.
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