UPDATE:Germany's Koch Says Opel Insolvency Can't Be Ruled Out
May 25 2009 - 4:20AM
Dow Jones News
The governor of the German state of Hesse, Roland Koch, said
Monday that an insolvency of General Motors Corp.'s (GM) local unit
Adam Opel GmbH can't be ruled out, but said that this would be the
worst option.
"No bidder must believe that he can dictate conditions. The
government wants to see a good offer at the end of the day," Koch
told reporters in Berlin.
Koch said an insolvency would be "the worst of any possible
options, in particular because it would affect suppliers and the
pension payments for employees...It would be bad if they got lost."
He said that it is "important that investors also take over
risks".
Austria-Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. (MGA)
appears to be frontrunner for Opel. Italian automaker Fiat SpA
(F.MI) has launched a rival bid for Opel, as well as RHJ
International (RHJI.BT), a European buyout firm of investor U.S.
Ripplewood with holdings in the auto-parts industry.
Company Web site: www.opel.com
-By Andrea Thomas and Christoph Rauwald, Dow Jones Newswires;
+49 30 2888 4126; andrea.thomas@dowjones.com