RIA Novosti reported that Germany and Magna International, backed by Russia's Sberbank and GAZ reached a deal early Saturday that will see the consortium take over car maker Opel, part of US car giant GM.
Magna, Canada's largest auto component maker will acquire a 20% stake in Opel with Russia state owned Sberbank and car maker GAZ, owned by billionaire Mr Oleg Deripaska taking a 35% slice making the consortium a majority shareholder. Mr Peer Steinbrueck German Finance Minister said "We have an agreement after protracted late-night negotiations in Berlin between US and German government officials, GM and Magna.
The other shareholders will be GM who will retain a 35% stake with the remaining 10% being held by Opel employees. Magna has said it will invest more than USD 700 million in Opel, which along with the Vauxhall brand, employs more than 25,000 people in Germany alone.
With General Motors expected to file for bankruptcy in the coming days, the move is seen as a lifeline for some of the 55,000 GM workers across Europe, however, Magna is expected to slash some 10,000 jobs, 2,500 are due to go in Germany. It is expected that Magna will use Opel to move more of its operations into Russia, one of the fastest-growing car markets in the world.
