A few days ago, GM's CEO Fritz Henderson confirmed that General Motors is still open to other bids, despite being involved in advanced negotiations with Magna.
"We're just negotiating, we don't have an exclusivity agreement (with Magna), so we are open to discussion with others," he was quoted as saying by Reuters. "We are spending a lot of time with Magna trying to negotiate a more definitive agreement."
On the other hand, the premier of the eastern German state of Thuringia, Dieter Althaus, expressed his confidence that Magna's acquisition plans will be completed in the near future, in spite of all these reports claiming that Fiat and BAIC might get back on track.
"I'm very optimistic that the negotiations will come to a good conclusion," Althaus said. "I don't see any real risks at the moment either."
As said, Fiat might be the one benefitting most from this uncertainty, with some media reports even claiming that the Italian manufacturer recently submitted a revised takeover proposal. "The interest is still there, it doesn't depend on us," Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne said, confirming that he's still interested in buying Opel.
Magna expects to complete the Opel acquisition by September. "We think that we will be finished in the next four, five weeks and then there's the final signing," Magna co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf said in early June. "After the signing, all approvals have to be given, and I think that we can expect a closing in September, end-September."
Google News