German Econ Min: Sights Not Fixed On Particular Opel Investor
09 May 2009 - 1:51AM
Dow Jones News
The German government hasn't fixed its sights on any particular
potential investor in General Motors Corp.'s (GM) German unit Opel,
Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Friday.
"At the moment, everything in this respect is open," he said,
adding it would be "absurd" at this point to make any preliminary
decisions that could compromise Opel's negotiating position.
Both Italian carmaker Fiat SpA (F.MI) and Austrian-Canadian auto
parts manufacturer Magna International Inc.(MG.A.T) have presented
plans for a possible Opel takeover, he said. The Fiat plan is more
detailed, while Magna's is more a rough concept, but Magna is still
working on refining its plan, the minister said.
A plan for General Motors Europe must be developed at the
European level, zu Guttenberg said, adding potentially interested
investors should keep this in mind.
Right now nobody wants the group to be broken up and the
remaining parts allocated, he said.
Web sites: www.fiat.com; www.opel.de; www.magna.com;
www.bmwi.de
-By Beate Preuschoff; Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 500;
djnews.frankfurt@dowjones.com