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Germany Denies RHJ Is Opel's Favorite

The twisted tale which engulfed GM's German based brand Opel grows in proportion, as reports confirmed by one or more parties involved are denied by the others. Even if RHJ International officially stated that it is in talks with GM for the control of Opel and, according to some sources, it has become the front-runner in the race, Germany still says it considers Magna as the main suitor.

Jochen Homann, head of the government's Opel Task Force, denied a report which surfaced in German newspaper Bild which said RHJ has become Germany's Economy Ministry favorite.

"The report is wrong," Homann was quoted as saying by Autonews. "A decision has not been taken in favor of one or the other bidder." He added that the 1.5 billion euro bridge financing offered by the German government to Opel was not conditioned on one bidder or another. He warned however that future government guarantees will have to be negotiated.

RHJ on the other hand considers itself ahead of Magna as well. Even if they didn't claim to have taken the lead, RHJ did say "discussions have been taking place over a number of weeks and are at an advanced stage."

Magna and its partner Sberbank on the other hand will now benefit from the support of the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev. He will make an appeal to Germany to approve Magna's offer during a visit he will make this week in Germany.

"In Munich we will speak out in favor of this deal," Sergei Prikhodko, Medvedev's chief foreign policy aide told reporters. "It's a good deal. We hope others will support it as well."
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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