UPDATE: Obama:Hopeful Car Companies Will Emerge Even Stronger
June 05 2009 - 6:03AM
Dow Jones News
U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday he hopes that car
companies will stabilize and emerge even stronger from their
current troubles.
Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel in Dresden, Obama also said he is very satisfied with
the solution found to separate General Motors Corp.'s (GMQM) German
unit Adam Opel GmbH from the U.S. carmaker.
"I am very pleased to see the resolution of the Opel situation
here. We are very sympathetic towards each other...its not easy to
help auto companies restructure and its not always popular," Obama
said. "But it is also, we are convinced, the right thing to do. And
I am hopeful that not only are we going to see these companies
stabilize but also that they are going to emerge even stronger and
more competitive in the international market place."
The German government said May 30 it selected Austrian-Canadian
car parts maker Magna International Inc. (MGA) as a partner for
Opel and agreed on providing EUR1.5 billion in bridge financing
from the federal and state governments, paving the way for a
takeover by Magna and its two Russian partners.
The Obama administration plans for the U.S. government to take a
60% ownership stake in GM, which has filed for Chapter 11
protection.
-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; +49-(0)30-2888-4126;
andrea.thomas@dowjones.com