Beijing Auto, GM said to hold talks on Opel deal

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. will hold meetings this week with General Motors Corp. about its bid for Opel should Magna International Inc.'s offer for the European carmaker fail, two people familiar with the talks said.

Beijing Auto executives will give a presentation to managers at GM Europe's office in Zurich today, followed by a meeting in Ruesselsheim, Germany, where Opel is based, said the people, who declined to be identified because the meetings are private. Magna still hasn't resolved how many jobs it will cut, how it will fund pension liabilities, or what rights it will have to use GM technology in future.

The talks are a sign the Chinese company hasn't given up on buying the maker of Vauxhall cars after GM and Germany's government chose Aurora, Ontario-based Magna and its partner, Russian lender OAO Sberbank, as their preferred bidder in May. Beijing Auto may face competition from Italy's Fiat SpA, which has said it's still interested in acquiring Opel.

"There are some unresolved issues attached to the Magna plan," said Willi Diez, head of the Nuertingen, Germany-based Institute for Automobile Industry, a state-funded think tank. "It's legitimate for GM and Magna to try to get the most out of the deal, but that's when the sticking points arise."

Magna spokesman Daniel Witzani wasn't immediately available to comment when contacted by phone at the company's office near Vienna. Wang Hong, a spokesman for Beijing Auto, declined to comment. GM spokesman Chris Preuss declined to comment.

After a meeting with Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told reporters in Rome on June 11 that Fiat's offer for Opel is "still on the table."

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