Russian funds save German jobs in Opel deal ahead of elections

[FarCenter]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the deal to save car manufacturer Opel a "test for trans-Atlantic relations." Berlin and Washington seem to have passed it - but with Moscow seizing a lead role in the takeover.

Following the announcement of the deal between Opel and Canadian-Austrian car parts maker Magna, Merkel said she had spoken with US President Barack Obama on Friday and that they had agreed to do "everything they could to find a positive solution to a complex situation."

With Magna pledging to keep all four German Opel factories open, it appears that Merkel has found the positive solution she was looking for - although some may find it almost as complex as the problem it tries to solve. The agreement includes a 1.5-billion-euro ($2.1-billion) bridge loan from the German government aimed at preventing Opel itself from going bust before Magna can make its financing available.

Magna's bid, meanwhile, is to be bankrolled by Russia's state-owned Russian Sberbank, which will consequently gain a 35-percent stake in Opel. And Berlin will provide 4.5 billion euros in loan guarantees for Magna and Sberbank. All of this is meant to help Opel gain autonomy from its beleaguered parent company GM.
<SNIP>
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4292172,00.html

[JackRiddler]

1. Fascinating.

[JVS]

2. Nice of them not to insist on "shock therapy"

[dipsydoodle]

3. Good to see countries working together.

I'm still not sure what happened about the issue of GM owning the actual factory land sites separately. Anyone know ?