Official: Vauxhall ‘sold’
September 10th, 2009 by Richard Aucock
GM has now officially announced its board has agreed to sell a 55% stake in Vauxhall to Magna.
The board of directors ‘supports a bid from the consortium of Magna International Inc and Sberbank to buy a majority stake in its European Opel/Vauxhall operations.’
Binding agreements, however, won’t be concluded for another few weeks. Items still to discuss include:
• Written support of unions
• Agreement of unions to ‘cost restructuring’ – job cuts
• Finalisation of a definite financing package from the German Government
The eventual deal will see Magna get that 55 percent stake in the firm. Employees will get 10 percent, and GM will retain a 35 percent stake.
This split ensures Vauxhall will remain a ‘fully integrated part of GM’s global product development organisation’. This will help roll out green new cars such as the Vauxhall Ampera.
It also means Vauxhall will remain fully supported by a global car maker.
However, further details remain scant. We’re still not all that much clearer than when the Magna deal was announced the last time round.
As Unite union boss Tony Woodley said, now the hard work begins…
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Tags: GM, government, Magna, opel, Vauxhall