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BAIC's plans for Opel/Vauxhall
06 July 2009
BAIC has said it will make an “excellent home” for Opel/Vauxhall and it would need less German state aid than Magna after the Chinese firm’s chairman Xu Heyi confirmed it had made a 660 million euro (£570 million) offer for Opel.
BAIC has reportedly bid for a 51 per cent stake in Opel/Vauxhall, which would leave GM with 49 per cent. Xu Heyi made his “excellent home” comments in a letter to German politicians.
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Despite BAIC’s offer, GM Europe president Carl-Peter Forster still expects the Magna deal to go through. Under the terms of Magna’s offer, it would take a 20 per cent stake and its funding partner Sberbank a 35 per cent stake, leaving GM with 35 per cent.
“I am quite confident after a top-level meeting of GM and Magna, where broad consent was reached,” said Forster. “It's only about details.”
Forster said he was hopeful a deal with Magna could be finalised by the middle of July. Other parties still interested in Opel/Vauxhall are Fiat and Belgian private equity firm RHJ International.
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Mark Tisshaw
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