The Great Debate UK
from Commentaries:
Driving an Opel round in circles
True to form, GM's negotiator on the sale of Opel has poured cold water on expectations of a slam-dunk deal for Canadian car parts group Magna and its Russian backers.
John Smith (no relation, but I'm impressed by his negotiating) maintains in his blog that GM will compare the latest Magna offer with the proposal it has on the table from Belgium-based financial investor RHJ International.
Yesterday was a pretty busy day in the media, with many outlets reporting that Magna/Sberbank and General Motors had reached an agreement regarding Opel. At the risk of repeating myself, that’s just not the case. (emphasis added)
Smith is still waiting for more information from Germany's automotive task force on the T&C of the financing package they are offering to sweeten a deal to buy Opel.
from Commentaries:
GM blog lifts hood on power struggle over Opel
It's not often you get to lift the hood and watch a power struggle going on in the engine room of General Motors. But the vice-president of GM Europe, John Smith, has just provided tantilising details of the arguments over the rival bids for Opel/Vauxhall, the main European arm of the fallen U.S. auto giant. Smith is the chief negotiator on the sale of Opel.
In a blog apparently intended to reassure Opel staff, but accessible to the public, he insisted GM had not specified a preferred bidder. But he made clear his own preference for the bid from Belgian financial investor RHJ International, which is loosely related to U.S. private equity fund Ripplewood, over the offer by Canadian-Austrian car parts maker Magna and its Kremlin-backed Russian partner Sberbank.
from Commentaries:
Politics, economics collide over Opel
Political and economic logic are set to collide in the byzantine decision-making over the future of German carmaker Opel, the main European arm of fallen U.S. auto giant General Motors.
If politics prevail, as seems likely, the cost to German taxpayers will be higher and the chances of commercial success lower.
The aim of the Berlin government and four federal states, which are sustaining Opel with bridging finance, is to save as many German jobs and production sites as possible. That makes political sense ahead of September's general election. But the business logic is that only a greatly slimmed-down Opel can survive in an industry with chronic overcapacity.
In theory, it is up to GM's board to choose among the three offers it expected to receive on Monday from Canadian-Austrian car parts maker Magna <MGa.TO>, Belgian financial investor RHJ <RJHI.BR>, and, less plausibly, Chinese state-owned auto maker BAIC. But there are several other powerful players with a say. They include the trustees responsible for the company since GM entered U.S. bankruptcy in June, the German federal and state governments, Opel's works council and, last but not least, the European Commission, which must approve the restructuring plan as a condition for authorising the state aid.
