Germany Still Not Planning to Take a Stake in Opel

Even if Opel every once in a while warns that the brand may bite the dust unless it gets financial support, Germany is still not willing to buy a stake into the company, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday in an interview of ARD television. Instead, Germany will closely collaborate with General Motors to establish a survival plan but, unless the company issues a "properly formulated" document, no money will be directed towards the automaker.

"We do not have that aim at the moment," Angela Merkel said emphasizing that Germany doesn't plan to purchase a stake into the automakers. "I am not pessimistic, but we haven't achieved it yet," she added according to Autonews.

This isn't the first time when Angela Merkel underlines that the state is not interested in investing into the German brand. The chancellor earlier this month explained that Opel is not crucial to the German economy so the survival plan still have to be improved in order to approve the required funding package.

"We'll help if the positives for everyone outweigh the negatives. The plan still needs to be improved and clarified," the chancellor was quoted as saying by Reuters.

On the other hand, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the country's economy minister, hinted that insolvency may become Opel's only option in this context, explaining that it could help the company protect jobs without forcing the company close its doors and operations.

"If the business model is suitable for the future, an insolvency can also help to retain jobs. Our insolvency law gives firms the chance to write off debt and continue operations," he told the WirtschaftsWoche weekly magazine.