Berlin - Germany could provide bridge financing of €1.5bn to General Motors's subsidiary Opel while waiting for a new investor to step in, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said on Wednesday ahead of top-level meetings on the future of the automaker.
Italy's Fiat, Canadian auto parts maker Magna International and US investment firm Ripplewood Holdings have all been pursuing Adam Opel GmbH as it seeks to separate from GM ahead of a possible GM bankruptcy.
German officials are scrutinising the bids in hopes of saving as many jobs as they can, though they say it remains up to GM to choose who will take over Opel. Germany would decide on whether a new owner would get further government assistance, and if so what kind.
Some 25 000 people work for Opel in Germany, nearly half of GM Europe's total work force, and national elections in September are putting pressure on politicians to find a solution that avoids as many layoffs as possible.
A German official, meanwhile, confirmed that Chinese carmaker Beijing Automotive Industry has also submitted an offer. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because BAIC's interest has not been made public.
German newspapers Bild and Financial Times Deutschland reported BAIC's offer includes a guarantee to preserve the four Opel factories and all jobs in Germany for two years. Neither newspaper identified sources.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel planned meetings later in the day to bring together German and US officials with GM representatives and Opel's potential suitors as pressure builds for a decision on its future. It was not clear whether BAIC representatives would take part.
Support for new owner
Speaking on ARD television ahead of the meetings, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said there was a "very good chance" that the federal government would have to step in with bridge financing to help keep Opel running after an investor was found.
"There are three questions today: Which investor would we prefer? How would a trust model look? And that leads to the question of bridge credit in the order of €1.5bn," Steinbrueck said.
Germany wants Opel to become independent so that German tax dollars are not drawn into a US bankruptcy proceeding. US parent GM faces a June 1 deadline to restructure or file for bankruptcy.
One solution could put Opel under an administrator while a deal with a new investor is worked out.
Steinbrueck added that any investor would likely be looking also for middle-term support from the government. In addition to bridge financing, German officials have previously said the country likely will have to support a new owner with loan guarantees.
"There are a number of other factors that first need to be clarified -probably this evening," Steinbrueck said.
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne told Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in meetings on Tuesday that he was lowering his request for loan guarantees from €7bn to €6bn.
Late Tuesday, Germany's ZDF television reported that moves toward a financial and legal separation of GM and Opel were well advanced. Asked about that in a ZDF interview, employee council chief Klaus Franz replied: "I can confirm that. I have seen the contract ... it looks very good and everything is going in the right direction."
Wednesday's evening meetings in Berlin are expected to include Cabinet ministers; governors of the four German states that have Opel plants; top officials from Fiat, Magna and possibly Ripplewood; and representatives from GM, GM Europe and the US Treasury Department.
- Sapa