Magna International Inc. and partner OAO Sberbank are close to completing an agreement to buy a majority stake in General Motors Co.'s Opel division, according to three people familiar with the situation.
The companies'lawyers are reviewing contracts in Frankfurt and aim to resolve final issues to pave the way for a deal to shift 55 percent of Ruesselsheim, Germany-based Adam Opel GmbH to Magna and Sberbank, said the people, who asked not to be identified before an agreement is announced. An accord may be announced tomorrow at the earliest, they said.
As part of the transaction, Opel's workers need to sign off on a plan to reduce as much as 1.6 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in costs through 2014 in exchange for a 10 percent stake in the carmaker and more influence on the board. Those negotiations are continuing and may also be completed by tomorrow, one of the people said.
Andreas Kroemer, a spokesman for Opel, and Karin Kirchner, a spokeswoman for GM Europe, declined to comment. Magna's Daniel Witzani couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
GM's board accepted the Opel takeover proposal from Magna, Canada's largest car-parts maker, in September. Talks have since continued as the parties sought to resolve remaining details, such as an agreement over joint purchasing.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had lobbied for the sale to Magna since May to help preserve jobs in the country. Germany has offered to back Magna's 500 million-euro investment with 4.5 billion euros in aid, including a 1.5 billion-euro loan already provided to keep Opel solvent when its U.S. parent sought protection from creditors in late May.
Gasgoo: auto parts source
