GM to pick Opel buyer by end of May

Automotive News Europe is quoting General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson as stating that the company will choose a buyer for its European business by the end of this month.

“We are speaking with multiple bidders. We would like to have at least some understanding of what the agreement might look like no later than the end of this month, slightly before the end of this month,” Henderson told a news conference in Detroit on Monday.

The German government would not decide who buys the business, Henderson said. “We are going to make sure any partner we pick is going to be suitable for them (the German government). We need their support.”

Berlin will have an influence on who buys Opel because it has been asked to provide 2.6 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in loan guarantees to finance a new company.

Henderson would give no information on the structure of any deal or onhow much of its European business GM will sell.

Said Henderson: “We have indicated a willingness to move into a minority position. But we need to negotiate something before we say what it is.”

GM’s planned sale of its European operations including German-based Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall has pitted Fiat against Magna International. Both companies have presented proposals for Opel’s future to the German government.

Fiat is seeking a three-way merger with Chrysler and GM’s European operations.

Magna International has said it could be interested in taking a 20 percent stake in Opel.

Source: Automotive News Europe