Germany plans to protect Opel’s assets from creditors if parent General Motors is forced into bankruptcy in the US next month, economy minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was quoted as saying at the weekend.

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In the event of a GM bankruptcy, Opel assets could be handed over to a trustee who would ensure the interests of creditors while a consortium of banks could provide Opel with bridge financing, he told Der Spiegel magazine in an interview published on Saturday.


“In this way the firm’s continued existence would be assured until a final deal (with investors) was reached,” Guttenberg was cited as saying by Reuters.


He reportedly urged investors interested in acquiring GM’s European operations, including Opel, to move fast given the threat to the US parent. “We want rapid, reliable information from the investors because we can’t rule out that GM in the United States will have to file for bankruptcy at the beginning of June,” Guttenberg said. “This could come at the same time interested parties are finalising a deal with GM on Opel. Then we need to ensure Opel assets are protected from creditors. We are preparing for this scenario.”


Others in the frame including Fiat, whose CEO Sergio Marchionne wants to form a three-party merger with both Chrysler and GM’s European operations while Toronto-based Magna International is also interested in Opel, most likely in conjunction with Russian investors.

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A senior German official told Reuters in Abu Dhabi, where Guttenberg was traveling on Saturday, that the government could also provide bridge financing for Opel.


In the magazine interview, however, Guttenberg ruled out the government taking a stake in the carmaker to help tide it over, the report noted.