GENERAL MOTORS (GM) is re-examining its options for Opel after the EU’s warning that the proposed sale to Magna International and Sberbank might breach state-aid rules.
Executives at the Detroit carmaker yesterday were discussing alternatives to the long-planned sale if the deal should fail on regulatory grounds, according to two people close to the company.
GM still favours the sale to the Canadian/Russian consortium, they said, because it fears the only real alternative is insolvency and a controlled administration process. This would result in more jobs being lost than the 11,500 Magna has proposed cutting.
European commissioner for competition Neelie Kroes threw the sale into disarray on Friday when she said in a letter to German economics minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg that Berlin’s financial aid for the spin-off appeared to be conditional on Magna and Sberbank winning control and so could violate the bloc’s anti-trust rules.
A spokesman for the German government trust managing Opel said yesterday it had based its decision to approve the sale to Magna and Sberbank purely on economic grounds. He said it was up to the German government to clarify any concerns with Brussels. “We expect that the process will not need to be restarted.”
The European Commission said it had seen a copy of a letter sent on Saturday by Germany’s government to GM and the Opel trust assuring them that the €4.5 billion of government aid for the deal was not dependent on Magna and Sberbank being the winner, and was available to all bidders.
One of the people familiar with GM’s plans said it was awaiting clarification from Germany on the state-aid issue before deciding whether to go ahead with the sale, hold on to Opel or sell it to a third party. RHJ International, the other shortlisted bidder until GM chose Magna, yesterday ruled out renewing its interest.
In a further potential hitch to the deal, a labour leader at GM’s Spanish operation said yesterday workers there would vote today on options that might include a strike after failing to reach agreement with Magna on the scale of planned job cuts.
