Germany warms up to Fiat
FRANKFURT, GERMANY — The German government on Monday said it would consider helping Italian automaker Fiat grab control of Opel, the German subsidiary of General Motors.
Less than a week after he clinched a deal for a 20 percent stake in Chrysler, Fiat’s chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, traveled to Berlin to convince skeptical German officials that his company is the right match for Opel, which employs more than 25,000 Germans at plants across the country.
Trying to resolve the politics and finances of a deal, Marchionne outlined a plan that would put Fiat in control of a large stake of Opel with $6.5 billion to $9.1 billion in "bridge financing," presumably from governments, officials said same day cash advances. And aiming to placate German politicians leery of job cuts in an election year, he said Fiat had pledged to maintain the three main plants in Germany.
"It’s an interesting approach, without question," Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the German economy minister, said after the meeting in Berlin.
Marchionne has said he wants an agreement in principle within 30 days, but Guttenberg gave no definitive time frame for a decision on Monday.
Filed under: online by Fred