OFFICIALS AT Opel in Germany say they are “very optimistic” the company can survive after reports that General Motors is prepared to give away its European subsidiary.
Talks with potential investors are “well advanced”, according to well-placed sources and a deal to hive off Opel and Sweden’s Saab could be signed “within six weeks”.
“Talks with various investors are progressing well and I am convinced that we will find an investor,” said Klaus Franz, Opel works council representative.
GM managers say that “at least six” parties have contacted them with an eye to buying their European business.
Rumours that Fiat was ready to step in drove up shares in the Italian company and those of Opel. The two companies co-operate closely and use the same technology in development and production stages.
Senior Opel sources have dismissed the idea of a Fiat takeover, suggesting that finance investors are more likely to buy the company.
Any investor will be given control of the companies for free, according to press reports yesterday, but could have to come up with at least €500 million in equity to stabilise the company.
After that, the company needs an estimated €3.3 billion in funding, likely to be sought in loans and state guarantees.
“Without additional measures from the federal government, there will be no solution for Opel,” said one banker to Spiegel Online.
Decoupling Opel and Saab from GM could clear the way to state guarantees from Berlin as German chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out helping Opel until it can guarantee that any state aid would not be diverted to Detroit.
“We welcome that the firm is looking for investors,” said a government spokesperson yesterday, adding that Germany was “prepared to help if things become more concrete”.
Opel dealers around Europe plan to get involved too: they are working on a plan to contribute €150 from each new Opel sold over the next three years to a fund to buy a stake worth about €400 million in the company.
German auto industry experts estimate that more than 100,000 jobs are at risk if Opel collapses – 26,000 workers in the five plants around the country, the rest in secondary suppliers.
A record 20 per cent market share in Germany the 1970s is down to just 10 per cent today, propped up by the popular Corsa and Astra models.
