The European Commission will not stop the sale of a majority stake in Opel to a Magna International-led consortium.
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European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes’ spokesman Jonathan Todd also told AFP GM was now “reconsidering” to whom to sell to and was expected to reach a decision by the end of this week.
“It is not the intention of the European Commission to try and block a particular deal in the case of Opel,” Todd said.
He added the commission wanted “to ensure that the money that’s made available is under conditions which are acceptable under the state aid rules and the internal market rules.”
The German government has offered up to EUR4.5bn (US$6.7bn) in state aid to support the deal with an eye on the 25,000 Opel jobs in the country.
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By GlobalDataThe European Commission on Friday raised the prospect of a repeat sale of Opel, warning that planned German aid could breach EU competition rules.
Kroes wrote to German Economy Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg “expressing her concerns” over the funds, a Commission statement said.
It said there were “significant indications that aid promised by German Government to New Opel was subject to the pre-condition that a specific bidder, Magna/Sberbank, was selected to acquire a majority of the shares.”
Magna International, an auto parts manufacturer, joined by Russian bank Sberbank, hopes to sign a deal with General Motors to buy 55 percent of Opel.
Speaking Tuesday before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said: “I am confident that we will find a solution.”
But he added that “we cannot compromise European market regulations.”
The German government on Saturday wrote to both General Motors and Opel to make clear that the state aid would be available “irrespective of the choice of investor,” Commission spokesman Todd said.
He added that “General Motors and Opel Trust are now reconsidering who they want to sell the majority stake to.”
“We expect them to complete their deliberations during the course of this week, in which case we would expect them to inform the German authorities of their decision and for the German authorities to inform us.”
