In the meantime the terms of the public guarantees have been adopted

In the aftermath of the filing of tenders for the resumption of Opel, the Canadian group Magna seems to have the advantage over the other two candidates. An internal classification of the parent company General Motors place the automotive OEM in first position, before the RHJ International holding company, according to "Der Spiegel". Fiat would happen only third, despite the rantings of Sergio Marchionne autour of its offers. The leaders of GM would be skeptical with the Italian Builder project to create a new giant of the automobile. As Fiat, by becoming a shareholder in Chrysler, risk of transferring the know-how of Opel to compete with GM in the United States. According to the American daily "Detroit news", Sergio Marchionne proposal give General Motors a 10 participation in the new set, whereas the US group requires 40.

The scheme put forward by Magna him on the other hand attribute 35 to 40 of the capital. This offer also has the favour of German trade unions, because duplication of activities would be less important than with Fiat. The Canadian-Austrian manufacturer could use all the industrial capabilities of Opel in constructing models on behalf of other manufacturers.

But the games are not made. Sergio Marchionne believes indeed that his group "has more than 50 probability", as he would have said to the members of the Agnelli family, according to remarks reported by the Italian newspaper "La Stampa" (owned by the Agnelli). The German Government, which must meet today to discuss offers, said officially yesterday did not have preference at this stage. Election year, the advantage should still return to the investor proposes to preserve the most jobs, as the Socialist candidate for the Chancellery, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Delegation in Washington

The final decision is in the hands of General Motors, but it will not emerge without the approval of Berlin, which will have to give public guarantees. In an interview with the newspaper specialized "Auto Moto und Sport", Carl Peter Forster, the boss of GM Europe, indicated that his group was still cash for the moment, but that the effective entry of an investor will last, according to him, "at least until the fourth quarter." "It is a complex sale process, whose implementation includes a multitude of contracts and things to settle," he said.

Starting with the schema to put in place to allow Opel to continue its activity if General Motors is placed under the procedure of Chapter 11 at the end of the month. Berlin offers a fiduciary administration ("Treuhand") structure to isolate the European subsidiary of its parent. In order to convince the US Treasury, a delegation led by the Minister of economy, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, plans to go to Washington this weekend.

In the meantime, the terms of the public guarantees have been adopted. Representatives of the German Federal State, banks and areas established agreement on a credit of EUR 1.5 billion. Now, Berlin wants to move quickly. A decision in principle on the future investor is expected later next week, said Olaf Scholz, Minister of labour, at the end of a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We do not have much time", he added.