Private equity group Ripplewood will step in with a bid for General Motors’ Opel and Vauxhall divisions in Europe if Magna International’s bid fails, The Times reported today.
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Representatives of Magna are in the UK this week inspecting Vauxhall’s two sites at Ellesmere Port and Luton and looking at the accounts of the company which employs around 5,000. They will also meet representatives from Lord Mandelson’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) but Unite, the union which represents Vauxhall’s workers, has no scheduled meetings with Magna, The Times said.
Magna’s offer to buy a controlling stake in GM Europe is conditional on the completion of due diligence. The paper noted that Magna was also eager to win state aid from Lord Mandelson in return for guarantees about the future of the Vauxhall workforce.
Ripplewood was one of four interested parties considering a bid for GM Europe in May but was forced to withdraw from the bidding after Magna was picked at the end of last month as the preferred bidder.
While the terms of Ripplewood’s interest were not made public, the approach was actually made by RHJ International – a related Belgian holding company. While RHJ International is independent from Ripplewood, the two firms were founded and are run by the same executive – Timothy Collins. RHJ International has a number of investments in the car industry – namely controlling stakes in Asahi Tec, of Japan, Honsel of Germany and Niles of Japan – all of which are car component companies.
Magna and Russia’s state-owned Sberbank have offered to pay EUR700m (US$966m) for a 55% stake in GM Europe; GM would retain 35% and Opel workers 10%.
