GM and Magna Move Closer Together

With a final decision on the future of German manufacturer Opel looming, reports started coming in saying American manufacturer GM and Magna have already began narrowing the gap between their points of few and are now closer than in recent weeks.

Even if the news comes form a German politician (we all know Germany is an active Magna supporter), it does deserve attention as the parties involved already announced a conclusion of the months-long Opel saga.

According to Hendrik Hering, Economy Minister for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, who talked to Reuters, "GM and Magna have moved closer together" and "a good deal of the critical points have been settled."

"It is possible that we could agree or have the basic conditions for an agreement this week or by the beginning of next week," Hering was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source, adding that there are however still some issues to be worked upon.

In a report earlier today, all the parties involved expressed their support for a quick exit from the Opel stalemate. Following the negotiations held last night, Magna and rival bidder RHJ have been asked by German officials to revise their bids and improve certain aspects of their takeover proposals.

"We made significant progress. All the partners - so GM, Magna and RHJ - confirmed that they saw themselves able to see eye to eye by the end of the week," deputy Economics Minister Jochen Homann stated.

GM hopes to conclude its evaluation and make a recommendation to the Opel Trust Board shortly, the company said.