Opel deal was killed by EU concers, says GM
By Andrew C., 27 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
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The catalyst General Motors' reversal of its decision to sell Opel to Magna International is the Competition Commission's expressed concern of the German government's alleged preferential treatment. Neelie Kroes, competition commissioner, informed German economy minister Karl-Theodor zu Gettenberg through a letter sent in October about "significant indications" that the government set a condition to only provide aid for Opel if Magna was chosen as buyer. There was every indication that the GM board would be selling a 55% stake in Opel to Magna and its Russian partner Sberbank last September. The sudden change in plans angered both the workers and some of the management of Opel. GM board chairman Ed Whitacre said that when the European Union questioned why the money was only made available to one investor, the board revisited the issue. He said that the issue forced the board to ask themselves how they "could be a global player and not play globally."
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