2nd UPDATE: Fiat Presented Offer For GM's Opel, Vauxhall Wed
May 20 2009 - 2:57PM
Dow Jones News
Fiat SpA (FIATY) said Wednesday it has presented a formal offer
for General Motors Corp.'s (GM) European units Adam Opel AG and
Vauxhall.
In an emailed statement, the Turin-based carmaker said that if
the deal is finalized, the new company will merge Fiat Group
Automobiles, including Chrysler's stake, and Opel.
"LatAm and South Africa operations are the second step of Fiat's
expansion plan," a person with knowledge of the situation said
Wednesday noting that a further move would be made once the outcome
of Opel's offer will be clear.
The German government is going to start evaluating the bids
Wednesday, German state TV reported late Wednesday.
Fiat is keen to acquire GM Europe units to merge them with its
own auto unit and with Chrysler, in a bold move to tap government
funds to finance a reduction of the auto industry's chronic
overcapacity through a horizontal merger between similar,
mass-market brands.
General Motors is selling GM Europe, which includes Opel in
Germany, as well as Vauxhall in the U.K. and Saab in Sweden, to
raise cash as it faces a possible bankruptcy filing in the U.S. as
soon as later this month.
An offer for Saab may be filed in the following weeks, a person
with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.
In the last four weeks, Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne
has traveled extensively to the U.S. and Germany in an attempt to
ink a three-way merger between Fiat-Chrysler and General Motors'
European operations.
Fiat is seeking financial support from local governments to
succeed and become a rival to global players like Japan's Toyota
Motor Corp. (TM) or Germany's Volkswagen AG (VLKAY).
Austrian-Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc.
(MGA), jointly with Russian car maker Gaz Russia (GAZA.RS), have
signalled their interest in GM Europe.
Belgium-based RHJ International (RHJI.BT) is also interested, a
person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal
earlier this month.
RHJ didn't return calls late Wednesday seeking comment.
-By Sabrina Cohen, Dow Jones Newswires, +39 02 5821 9906;
sabrina.cohen@dowjones.com
(Christoph Rauwald and Roman Kessler contributed to the
report.)