US/GERMANY: GM eyes Opel deal with RHJ – report

30 June 2009 | Source: just-auto.com editorial team

Investor firm RHJ is reportedly getting close to a deal with GM to buy a stake in Opel as a prospective deal with preferred bidder Magna hits problems.

The Financial Times newspaper said that Belgium-based equity firm RHJ - one of the initial bidders for Opel/Vauxhall - had improved its offer and that an MoU between RHJ and GM could be signed as early as this week.

The report said GM was taking the revised offer 'very seriously'. The RHJ offer is now said to be more sensitive to German concerns over jobs and plant closures.

The proposed deal with Magna has also reportedly stumbled on GM concerns over access to GM technology, which Magna wants to secure on behalf of its Russian partners, Sberbank and GAZ.