UPDATE: Magna: To Sign Off On Opel Deal In 4-5 Weeks
June 03 2009 - 5:14AM
Dow Jones News
Magna International Inc. (MGA) Co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf
said Wednesday he expects to sign off on a deal to acquire General
Motors Corp.'s (GM) German unit Adam Opel GmbH in four to five
weeks.
Magna International Inc. (MGA) has partnered with Russia's OAO
Sberbank (SBER.RS) and OAO GAZ Group (GAZA.RS) to take over Opel,
after the German government selected Magna as the successful
bidder.
Wolf also said he expects the consortium's Opel entry to be
completed by September.
At the briefing, Opel's labor representative Klaus Franz said
hard times are ahead for Opel, and in particular for plants in
Luton, Antwerp and Bochum. The aim of the labor council is to
prevent forced layoffs and factory closures, he added, but couldn't
offer any guarantees. Franz also said Magna's corporate culture
fits well with Opel's.
-By Frankfurt Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 500;
djnews.frankfurt@dowjones.com