GM Wants to Get Rid of Opel as Quickly as Possible

Even if negotiations between the interested Opel bidders and General Motors seem to go on forever, the American manufacturer wants to get rid of the German brand as soon as possible. GM Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said the company wants to secure a deal with one of the two suitors quickly, but hasn't mentioned specific reasons for it. However, the Opel selling process has been, and continues to be, a pain in the back for General Motors who's hoping to hand over the majority stake by next month.

"I think everyone is anxious to get this thing done," Young was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.

Meanwhile, opinions are still divided when it comes to the preferred bidder for Opel. While Germany, through the voice of Chancellor Angela Merkel, says Magna is better for Opel, General Motors favors RHJ whose offer is said to be much more advantageous and easier to implement.

"As the RHJI proposal is the simpler of the two, there were very few significant issues with this offer, so most of our time has been spent working with the Magna/Sberbank team," John Smith, GM Group Vice President (and GM’s chief negotiator for the sale of a stake in Opel/Vauxhall), said last week after a new round of negotiations.

"The Magna proposal is more complex, owing to the inclusion of Russia and a third, Russian-based investor. We started the week with about 30 issues to resolve, including NewOpel involvement with Chevrolet in Russia, intellectual property transfer rights in Russia, advanced technology access, product development responsibilities, minority shareholder rights and other items."