A former Continental chief executive will represent the German government on an advisory board overseeing the trust that administers Opel, a report said on Monday.
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Manfred Wennemer declined to comment to Reuters. He ran Continental until his resignation last August following his defeat in a bitter takeover battle waged by bearings maker Schaeffler.
The trust, which holds 65% of Opel shares, is tasked with ensuring that EUR1.5bn (US$2.1bn) in bridge financing offered by the German government and the four German states with Opel plants is not misappropriated, the report added.
The trust was created to administer Opel during GM’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy until a new Opel investor is found.
The other four members of the advisory board are two GM delegates, a representative of the four German states and one neutral party, Reuters said.
GM has named GM Europe finance chief Enrico Digirolamo and GM Vice President of Global Product Planning, John Smith.
Hesse state economy minister Dieter Posch, said in a statement on Monday the four German states had appointed Dirk Pfeil, treasurer of Hesse’s Free Democratic Party, to represent their interests.
The president of the board of directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, Citigroup’s Fred Irwin, will serve as the independent member of the advisory body, the report added.
