Ripplewood-GM in Talks for Opel

How more twisted can the Opel story get? After at the end of last month we thought this is getting closer to be over, reports which surfaced these past two weeks claim GM's German brand is still up for grabs, to all those previously interested.

Financial Times Deutschland reported that Ripplewood Holdings is still in talks with GM for a possible acquisition of Opel, despite Magna's much more advanced plan for the German manufacturer.

The reason behind this may be very simple: GM is covering its behind. Should the talks with Magna stall, the American bankrupt manufacturer will have leverage against the Canadian company.

Let's get one thing straight. When the announcement was made that Magna has taken over Opel, we all knew this is not entirely the case. Signing a memorandum of understanding, or whatever you like to call it, it's not quite the same with selling something per se.

Studies are being made to see what, where, for how long and how much, but the question still remains. Why on Earth did you sign the MoU in the first place? Was the choice YOU made not good enough? Why did you make it then?

The battle to follow will not be economical and it will not be GM's. It will be political and Germany's. Besides money, the human cost, in terms of Opel workers sent home, will weigh much more than the amount received by GM for Opel.

As we said, this report from the German newspaper claims GM is still talking with Ripplewood. Previous ones included Fiat and BAIC. We wonder what common German citizen have to say... After all, it's an election year...