Obama: Hopeful That Car Companies Will Emerge Even Stronger
05 June 2009 - 7:43PM
Dow Jones News
U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday he hopes that car
companies will stabilize and emerge even stronger from their
current troubles.
Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel in Dresden, Obama also said he is very satisfied with
the solution found to separate General Motors Corp.'s (GMQM) German
unit Adam Opel GmbH from the U.S. carmaker.
He said he hopes that the companies will not only stabilize but
become stronger and more competitive on international markets.
The German government said May 30 it selected Austrian-Canadian
car parts maker Magna International Inc. (MGA) as a partner for
Opel and agreed on providing EUR1.5 billion in bridge financing
from the federal and state governments, paving the way for a
takeover by Magna and its two Russian partners.
The Obama administration plans for the U.S. government to take a
60% ownership stake in GM, which has filed for Chapter 11
protection.
-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; +49-(0)30-2888-4126;
andrea.thomas@dowjones.com