Opel sale to be finalised today

General Motors is expected to confirm today it has formally agreed to sell a 55 per cent stake in Opel/Vauxhall to Magna.

The Canadian parts supplier and its Russian funding partner Sberbank are expected to sign binding share agreements today, which will finally bring an end to months of debate and speculation over who Opel’s new owners will be.

Earlier this week, Magna reached a deal with British unions to maintain production at Ellesmere Port and Luton beyond 2013. Magna plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs across Europe, 1400 which were expected to come in the UK. But the deal with Unite is expected to save up to 600 of these.

A similar agreement has yet to be reached with Spanish unions and talks are expected to continue today. Magna wants to shift a production line to Germany and reduce the output at the Zaragoza plant from 500,000 to 320,000 vehicles, but unions are only willing to cut to 400,000 units.

Any deal between GM and Magna is subject to ratification from the European Commission to ensure it doesn’t breach any market laws.

The deal is expected to be confirmed later this afternoon.

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