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China wants Opel

Michael LawtonJuly 8, 2009

As representatives from General Motors and Magna, the Austrian-Canadian auto-parts manufacturer, keep working on the details of the transfer of ownership, China has submitted a bid for Opel.

https://p.dw.com/p/IjWO
red Opel on the asembly line
China bids for OpelImage: AP

Chinese state-owned carmaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company (BAIC) has made an offer for a majority stake in General Motors' European business Opel.

The offer from China hinges on GM agreeing to share propulsion know-how regarding fuel cell and hybrid technologies.

"As you may know, industrialization of a developing country such as China needs to have access to intellectual property. This is a top priority for the Chinese government. This is the key driver to Beijing Auto's potential acquisition of Opel NewCo," said the offer to General Motors.

The offer from BAIC comes just as GM and Magna continue to negotiate the final details of Magna's acquisition of Opel.

BAIC said that it would only need a load of 2.64 billion euros, while Magna has said that it will need at least 4.5 billion euros. The German government gave Opel a 1.5 billion euro bridging loan in May of this year.

According to BAIC, it plans to build up a network of 400 dealerships in China with a goal of selling up to half a million Opels in China by 2015.

BAIC said that it wants to invest up to $2.25 billion in its domestic production capacity which would begin in 2012.

If its bid is successful, BAIC has said that it would eliminate just over 7,500 Opel jobs, 3,000 of which are in Germany.

av/Reuters/dpa/AP
Editor: Michael Lawton

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