Opel FUBAR: CYA OR DOA?

The GM-Opel-Magna-Sperbank deal is on its last gasp. On Friday, GM’s chief Opel negotiator, John Smith, said that nothing will happen until the GM BOD will get around to reconsider the sale at its next regular meeting on November 3, says Reuters. In the meantime, the matter turns into a chain letter exercise. Chain letters everybody wants to receive, but nobody wants to write.

As reported by TTAC, EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes wants letters from all parties involved, certifying that the deal had not been reached under political pressure. All parties involved, meaning GM, the Opel Trust that officially owns Opel, and the German government. Except a vague note from Berlin to Brussels, no letters have been written. Nobody wants to write, everybody wants to receive a letter:

Instead, AFP reports that many members of GM’s Board of Directors now demand a letter from the German government that states that the €4.5b will “only be paid if the sale goes to Magna and Sperbank.” According to AFP, GM had sent am E-Mail to that effect to Berlin. No answer yet. Probably eaten by the SPAM filter. “The hell we will” was the most likely behind-the-doors reaction in Berlin. If that letter would be written, the deal would be DOA in Brussels.

According to Der Spiegel, the GM board hopes that they can keep Opel, collect the €4.5b in Berlin, close a plant or two in Germany, and send thousands of workers collecting unemployment benefits. Or else, Opel could go bankrupt. Again, GM is misreading German intentions. As reported previously, Berlin will happily choose bankruptcy, especially if they can blame it on the ugly Americans and/or the persnickety commissars in Brussels.