Got $652m in loose cash sitting around? Boy, does GM have a deal for you! If you are willing to invest that money into Opel/Vauxhall, then The General “is prepared to part with a controlling stake in Opel/Vauxhall for nothing,” Financial Times reports. It gets better . . .
GM has pledged €3 billion “in kind” to a holding company comprising its European operations, of which Germany’s Opel forms the largest part. GM wants governments, led by Germany, to guarantee €3.3bn of loans for the holding company. GM could retain a minority stake, but wouldn’t scoff at remaining the unit’s largest single shareholder either.
According to FT, a deal could take the form of a leveraged buy-out as a possible investor could use a €3.3bn combination of equity and state-guaranteed debt to give the new holding company a financial base.
In the meantime, GM’s European unit is engaged in “aggressive” contingency planning to ringfence its operations in case its parent files for bankruptcy in the US. According to FT, options under consideration at GM include putting financing in place for its international holdings ahead of a bankruptcy filing, or seeking debtor in possession financing from the U.S. government after a Chapter 11 filing.
GM’s advisor Commerzbank sent out an offer document for Opel/Vauxhall and GM, and expects a quick answer. GM wants potential buyers to give a firm indication of their interest over the next two to three weeks.
So if you have $652m (or possibly a bit less) to invest, you may up with a big European car company.
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Could someone please explain to me how this makes sense?
When does anything that GM does make sense?
I have $6.52 to invest in an Opel badge, but I’ll settle for a poster.
As the new owner the first thing I’d do is change “Opel” to “Öpel”.
Just think of the sales potential from that change alone!!!
Hell, I’d even throw in a pint of Früsen-Glädje with each purchase.
Who determines the value and type of “in-kind” donations? Is it GM or the buyers?
I think I’ll hang on to my $652 million … for now.
The latest rumor coming out off the Saturn blogspace is the legitimacy of Black Oaks Partners/Telesto purchasing the brand. For a little extra scratch, looks to me they could have a real cozy partnership with Vauxhall/Opel.
delorean23
The latest rumor coming out off the Saturn blogspace is the legitimacy of Black Oaks Partners/Telesto purchasing the brand.
I was told by a dealership insider that they are expecting an announcement in the next week about a Saturn spin-off. Sort of dovetails with the rumor you are reporting.
GMAC round 2! Get next to nothing for a core asset, lose control of a key part of your business and retain enough teeth in it to guarantee that ALL of the liabilities will come home.
Rastus, that’s been done with Ben & Jerry’s by Credo phone.
And Black Oak Partners has enough money to keep Saturn in the style to which it has become accustomed : limitless funds and never a profit to be had for another 20 years ? how long can the host support the parasite without GM’s cash burn behind it?
Give me a break. And didn’t some one of the B&B point out that Black Oak Partners is a consortium of car dealers who just closed some of it’s own Saturn dealerships ?
Good luck with that announcement.Cerberus/Chrysler part deux.
So, they folded? GM didn’t have any more cards up its sleeve? I mean, they did try to raise the stakes with that IP-move some weeks ago.
Does GM really know WTF they’re doing, or are they just doing stuff until something actually works? The GM saga is the craziest damn thing I think I’ve ever seem. They’ll give up controlling interest if you promise to pitch some money into Opel, or they’ll hold onto controlling interest (and liabilities associated with that, one would assume) if you want. This is seriously giving me tired head. Just get the C11, and all the messy stuff that goes along with it, done. Please.
I can see Opel as one of the brands that will disappear in the near future.
Who wants to buy a medium priced, very dull, low quality car?
If you just want a no thrills, cheap transport device, you will be more satisfied with a Korean or Japanese car.
This is so sad – the once the iconic symbol of American business and manufacturing might stooping to shopping it’s assets for whatever it can get. “No offer refused”. Here in the UK it’d be like Tesco at a car-boot sale (for those that don’t know, Tesco dominates the supermarket trade here, about 1 in every 12 or 10 pounds spent goes through them).
Opel (and Vauxhall) are respected brands in Europe. No earth-shattering technologies or break-throughs, but good, solid and reliable cars for the ordinary person.
What comes next – various GM brands on eBay?
superbadd75 said it all
‘does GM really know WTF they’re doing, or are they just doing stuff until something actually works? The GM saga is the craziest damn thing I think I’ve ever seem.’
I completely agree. i can’t recall anything quite so strange, even including the 2000 presidential election. GM has gone from master of the universe to getting rid of assets in a pathetic and pitiable way. Not of course that I feel sufficiently sorry for them to buy one of their pathetic and pitiable vehicles.
A deal for Opel is only good if GM and Vauxhall go away for good and take their corporate culture with them.