GM kills Opel sale to Magna

Dee and Ann Durbin and Tom Krisher

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT – General Motors Co. said Tuesday it will keep its European Opel unit and restructure it instead of selling a 55 per cent stake to Canadian auto parts maker Magna International and its partner, Russian lender Sberbank.

GM's board of directors made the decision at a daylong meeting after determining that a three-billion-euro (US$4.43-billion) restructuring plan was significantly lower than bids submitted for the division. GM CEO Fritz Henderson added that Europe's business environment and GM's overall health have both improved since it put the division up for sale.

The decision ends a year of uncertainty for the troubled Opel brand and its English sister, Vauxhall. Henderson said in a statement that GM will present its restructuring plan to the German government soon.

Magna co-chief executive Siegfried Wolf said the company will continue to support Opel and GM in the challenges ahead.

"We understand that the board concluded that it was in GM's best interests to retain Opel, which plays an important role within GM's global organization," Wolf said in a statement.

The move came even though Opel's unions on Tuesday reached agreement with Magna for euro265 million ($390 million) a year in cost cuts. Henderson said it will work with Europe's unions "to develop a plan for meaningful contributions to Opel's restructuring."

GM (TSX: MG.B), which has lost more than $80 billion in the last four years and has received about $50 billion in aid from the U.S. government, had announced plans to sell Opel in order to focus on more profitable regions, including Latin America and Asia.

But the potential sale had been fraught with complications. In August, GM rejected a deal to sell Opel to Magna because it preferred Brussels-based investor RHJ International SA.

The offer from RHJ International required less government aid but appeared likely to involve more job cuts in Germany, something the German government had been keen to avoid as it headed into elections in September.

After Germany agreed to provide some euro4.5 billion ($6.6 billion) in financial aid for the Magna deal in September, GM announced it would sell Opel to the Magna consortium. But the deal was still set to face European Union scrutiny.

Last month, the EU set a deadline for Nov. 27 to decide whether the Magna and Sberbank takeover could cause competition problems. The EU also was considering examining German government subsidies to Opel. Germany hadn't formally asked for EU approval to give euro4.5 billion to Opel's new buyers.

Other concerns remain. Workers have said they would rescind the pay concessions announced Monday if there is any outcome besides a deal with Magna. That could leave GM at significant financial risk. Magna had said it planned to cut about 10,500 Opel jobs in Europe, with 4,500 in Germany, but that it would keep four German plants open.

Also Tuesday, Henderson said GM planned to resume work directly with Russian automaker GAZ on modernizing its operations and other projects. GM had been concerned that Magna would give some of its future auto designs to GAZ, which competes with Chevrolet.

GM Europe, which employs 54,000 workers in total and sells Opel and Vauxhall cars as well as Cadillac and Chevrolet, also markets brands including Cadillac and Chevrolet in Europe. GM Europe reported a pretax loss of $1.6 billion in 2008, compared with a profit of $55 million the year before.

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