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Berlin 'can answer EU doubts on Opel takeover'
2009-10-17
BERLIN (AFP) - Berlin can answer the European Commission's reservations about German aid for the takeover of Opel from General Motors, Germany's Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Saturday. "I fully understand the action of the European Commission," which has written to Guttenberg expressing concern, the minister said. But he added that "real answers will be given," to clear up some confusing statements which had been made on the question in the past. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes wrote to Guttenberg because there were "significant indications" that aid promised by the government was dependent on a specific bidder, Magna/Sberbank, being selected to acquire a majority of the shares." GM "should be given the opportunity to reconsider the outcome of the bidding process on the basis of firm written assurances by the German authorities that the aid would be available" irrespective of the investor, the European Commission said Friday. Canadian auto parts maker Magna International and Russian state lender Sberbank clinched the bidding last month to buy a majority of Opel, with backing from Germany which said it would provide up to 4.5 billion euros if they won. Around 25,000 Opel employees are based in Germany and other European countries have accused German authorities of promising the aid to Magna and Sberbank in order to limit job cuts at Opel's German factories. The sale was formally approved by GM and the Opel Trust, a German body that has been responsible for Opel since June, but has not been finalised. Under a preliminary agreement, Magna and Sberbank would own 55 percent, GM would retain 35 percent and the employees would have 10 percent. Magna and Sberbank are reported to be looking to slash around 10,500 jobs. Kroes said in her letter to zu Guttenberg that the "conditionality" of the German aid may have excluded "alternative plans foreseeing a different distribution of restructuring measures within the EU." Bidders for Opel originally included Belgian investment fund RHJ International, Italian auto firm Fiat and China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC). The choice later narrowed to Magna-Sberbank and RHJ. Despite the row, German government sources told the weekly Der Spiegel that they expected the sale to be finalised next week.
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