The list of seriously interested Opel bidders has been whittled down to just three – and, if an unnamed financial source is to believed, the heretofore unknown bidder is Belgian investment firm RHJ International. We had already known that Fiat and major supplier Magna International were heavily involved in the race for Opel.

The bidders faced a deadline at 6 p.m. Wednesday that had been set by the German government. Both GM and Germany will have a say in who acquires Opel since the government is likely to provide billions of euros in financing.

Fiat’s plan
Fiat, fresh off of an alliance with Chrysler, confirmed yesterday that it had submitted a bid for both Opel and British unit Vauxhall in time for the deadline. Fiat would combine the assets of Opel, Vauxhall and Chrysler with its own operations to create the world’s second-largest automaker, behind Toyota.

Italy’s industry minister said that Fiat had “good possibilities” to acquire Opel, but Germany says that each parties is being considered equally and that Berlin is not picking favorites.

“Fiat is one of several interested parties that submitted a bid,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told Germany’s General Anzeiger newspaper.

“Now we can evaluate the offers. Our preference is for the investor that most credibly guarantees the four German plants and the most number of jobs.”

Should Fiat acquire Opel, it seems most likely that the automaker would utilize both Fiat and Opel platforms to sell Chrysler-badged vehicles in North America. Chrysler’s engineering offices would remain open to design trucks and SUVs – and, given the Obama administration’s recent ruling on new fuel economy standards, they’ll be busy making large vehicles comply with the 30 mpg standard.

Magna International’s offer
Magna International, a Canadian-Austrian company, is North America’s largest industry supplier. Heavily involved in the bidding for Chrysler in 2007 when the automaker was eventually acquired by Cerberus Capital Management, Magna would look to expand the Opel brand to emerging markets and open access to under-utilized plants to other automakers.

According to Reuters, Magna’s plans include a partnership with Russian automaker GAZ that would see an expanded Opel presence in Russia – expected to be one of the largest and fastest-growing new car markets as the global economy recovers.

Magna’s bid for Opel has not been confirmed by the company, though sources say a bid was placed yesterday.

RHJ International
Belgian holding company RHJ is no newcomer to the auto industry, having invested heavily in the Japanese market in the past – especially in automotive suppliers. Little is known of RHJ’s plans for Opel, though the automaker’s Ghent, Belgium, plant might have been a priority for RHJ.

Klaus Franz, head of Opel’s works council, told the Financial Times that the union had held several rounds of talks with RHJ and that they “have an exciting concept.”

Founded in 2004 by American Timothy Collins, who was also the founder of United States private equity Ripplewood, the firm owns the majority of a few Japanese and German parts suppliers, has a stake in Columbia Music’s Japanese business and even owns 100 percent of a resort in Japan. The firm has offices in Brussels, Zurich and Tokyo.

    Print This Post