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Opel dealers seek 10 to 15 per-cent stake in carmaker (1st Lead)
May 15, 2009, 12:12 GMT
Vienna - Opel dealers in Europe are offering 500 million euros (679 million dollars) to buy between 10 and 15 per cent of the ailing German carmaker, the dealer group said Friday in Vienna.
All 25 national members of the Euroda association - except for Finland - had approved the plan at a meeting in Austria's capital, the group's chairman Jaap Timmer told reporters.
'In return, we demand a fair equity share in the new company, representation in the supervisory board, and obviously, a fair financial return on our investment,' Timmer said.
The plan is to pay 150 euros for each sold car into an emergency fund over the coming three years to contribute to Opel's rescue, as 35,000 retail jobs are at risk in Germany alone.
Euroda is now set to start talks with the government in Germany and other countries where Opel cars are made, as well as with potential investors such as Italian carmaker Fiat or Canadian- Austrian car parts supplier Magna.
Timmer said he had received positive signals from Opel, which is a subsidiary of close-to-bankrupt US automaker General Motors, as well as from the German government.
Euroda's leaders did not express any preference for either Fiat or Magna, but said that Magna had indicated more interest so far.
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