GM may get 4th bid for Opel from Chinese bidder

General Motors Corp. may get a fourth offer for its Opel and Vauxhall European operations after a Chinese carmaker submitted an expression of interest today, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The Chinese company sent a letter a day after yesterday's deadline for bids, said the people, who declined to be identified because the negotiations are private. A specific offer may not materialize, said the people, declining to name the company.

GM is selling its European operations while preparing for a probable June 1 bankruptcy. The unit attracted bids from Italian carmaker Fiat SpA, Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. and RHJ International SA, a buyout firm that has automotive assets, including some former holdings of private-equity firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC.

The bids from Magna and RHJ include a cash component, while Fiat's offer requires 7 billion euros ($9.7 billion) of financing to reorganize Opel, the people said. Fiat's bid has two parts, including an offer for the Opel and Vauxhall units, and an alternative plan to also buy GM's operations in Brazil and Argentina, one of the people said.

New Fiat IPO

Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne has said he wants to create a new company that combines Fiat's auto unit with Chrysler LLC, GM Europe and possibly GM Latin America. Intesa SanPaolo SpA, UniCredit SpA and Goldman, Sachs & Co. will be the global coordinators for the initial public offering of that automaker, Fiat said today in a statement.