GM’s Loss Is Magna’s Gain: Opel Coming To Canada
Posted September 10, 2009 8:11 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s another chapter in the seemingly never-ending saga for the once-great car giant.
General Motors will be parting ways with Opel, and the automaker’s loss is Magna’s gain.
Opel, the company’s largest European subsidiary, will be sold to Magna International, a consortium based in Aurora.
“This has been going on for several months now,” sighed 680News Business Editor Mike Eppel.
“GM has been looking over bids from Aurora-based Magna and a Russian partner, a huge-scale auto parts producer that wants to get into auto production.
“There’s also a bid from RHJ International, a Belgian-based private equity firm and Germany’s governments involved with this because they want to invest some money to keep and save Opel jobs ahead of a national election,” he added.
But it was Magna that won out, despite fears that GM could lose technology patents in the sale.
Magna and Sberbank will buy a 55 percent stake in Opel, GM will continue to own 35 per cent of Opel and employees will be provided a 10 per cent stake.
Paint peels from the GM logo painted on a chimney at the shuttered GM assembly plant May 4, 2009 in Janesville, Wisconsin. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.
