"Fiat's entry would have raised more questions than it answered. There was not a second of due diligence for Fiat," the German official was quoted as saying by Autonews. Could this be a response to Fiat's latest statements that it is still pursuing Opel? No later than last week Fiat's CEO, Sergio Marchionne said "the interest is still there, it doesn't depend on us."
The German government says the consortium led by Magna has all the chances in the world to complete its bid for Opel, as well as for Vauxhall. "There is not the slightest reason to assume why it should not come to an agreement between GM and Magna," Koch said while speaking with reporters at the Opel headquarters.
Still, the German government has already stated that all the other suitors will not be ruled out of the race until a final deal is reached between Magna and GM. At stake now between the two parties is the price of GM's facilities in Russia, which Magna already agreed to take over.
What may turn out to be a drawback is Magna's partner Sberbank, who already said it plans, in the near future, to shed its 35 percent stake in Opel in favor of a strategic investor like GAZ or Russian Technologies.
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