Given that this is the big news story. We thought that we would dive into our news database and dig up some of the older news on this topic…
September 2009 – GM to sell control of Opel to Russia-backed Magna
Reuters reported the plan to sell 65% of Opel to Magna / Sberbank and an employee trust. The article notes that “..a report prepared by financial adviser KPMG and presented to GM’s board this week said an earlier estimate of the cost of keeping Opel by GM management had been “overly optimistic.”
November 2009 – General Motors cancels Opel sale
Here is an article from the BBC when GM called off the sale to Magna… a nice summary of events
“General Motors (GM) has cancelled plans to sell a majority stake in its European car business Opel, including its UK brand Vauxhall.”
June 2011 – GM’s Opel calls reports it’s for sale speculation
Thankfully, Yahoo have kept this story from June 2011
“General Motors’ European subsidiary Opel on Thursday firmly dismissed as speculation media reports that it’s up for sale. ”
September 2011 – GM to retain Opel for at least 10 years, Opel spokesman says
Although Bloomberg deleted their original reporting, the web scrapers have saved this for us.
“General Motors Co. (GM) plans to retain ownership of German unit Adam Opel GmbH for at least 10 years, Opel spokesman Stefan Weinmann said, confirming comments by GM’s vice president of global public policy Robert Ferguson to Bild Zeitung today. ”
(…In fairness, it does only say “plans to”.)
July 2012 – GM seen step away from giving up on Opel for good
Intense speculation followed the sacking of Karl-Friedrich Stracke in 2012 that Opel was being given one last chance.
“Just hours after General Motors (GM.N) abruptly fired Karl-Friedrich Stracke as chief executive of Opel last week, industry observers were already beginning to ask whether it was time to start writing the troubled European unit’s epitaph.”
“Since GM emerged from bankruptcy three years ago, Opel has racked up $3.5 billion in underlying losses thanks to an ever shrinking European car market, a bloated fixed cost base and an image that GM has helped bring low.”