Germany Could Accept RHJ as Opel Buyer

While General Motors says it is considering keeping Opel and cancel a potential sale to Magna or RHJ, the German government is willing to accept the offer submitted by the Belgium consortium RHJ. It was well known the fact Germany favored Magna International and Chancellor Angela Merkel even stated that she's ready to intervene personally to support the Canadian - Austrian investor in the fight for Opel.

But it appears that Germany is ready to change its mind and might accept RHJ's offer but only if it teams up with another international partner with a broader experience in the automotive industry, according to the Bild newspaper cited by Reuters.

Up until now, opinions on who's better to hold the controlling stake in Opel have been divided into separate parts, with Germany emphasizing that Magna's offer is much more advantageous for GM's unit. On the other hand, General Motors repeatedly said that RHJ's proposal is easier to implement as it includes less government support.

"The bid from RHJI is completed and would represent a much simpler structure and would be easier to implement. It would require less monetary participation by the government and would keep our global alignments solid, while still creating an independent Opel/Vauxhall organization in Germany. This remains a reasonable and viable option to be considered as the very difficult issues around the Magna negotiations continue to be worked," John Smith, GM group vice president (and GM’s chief negotiator for the sale of Opel), said in July.

Still nobody knows for sure what is going to happen with Opel as General Motors is reportedly planning to inject billions of dollars into Opel and keep the ownership package of the brand. However, sources are indicating that a decision should be made soon.