Business and Finance

BERLIN–Germany pressed for an independent future for General Motors Corp.’s Europe-based Opel unit yesterday, with the country’s foreign minister saying "the lights must not go out" as its American parent headed for a likely bankruptcy filing.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and several ministers gathered for talks at Merkel’s Berlin office with representatives of GM, the U.S. government and Opel’s suitors, as well as governors of German states that have Opel plants, with the aim of putting Opel on the road to safety.

Hours earlier, Opel’s supervisory board approved a plan to package GM assets for a new investor by pooling GM’s European plants, sales operations, patents and other assets – excluding Sweden’s Saab unit – debt-free under the German-based Adam Opel GmbH subsidiary, said Karin Kirchner, a spokeswoman for GM Europe.

"This way it can join a partnership with a potential investor," Kirchner said. "You have one company that would be invested in or would sell a stake."

GM could choose any new investor, but Germany would decide on whether a new owner would get further government assistance and, if so, what kind.

Some 25,000 people work for Opel in Germany, nearly half of GM Europe’s total workforce, and fall elections are putting pressure on politicians to find a solution that minimizes layoffs.

Italy’s Fiat SpA; a consortium of Canadian auto-parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russia’s Sberbank; and U.S. investment firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC have all filed bids for Opel.

Kirchner said the consolidation would help keep Opel’s assets separate from a bankruptcy filing by GM, which seemed inevitable yesterday as bondholders balked at its plan to swap bond debt for company stock payday loans for bad credit.

"If General Motors were to go bankrupt in the coming days, the lights must not go out at Opel because of that," Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the foreign minister and vice chancellor, told reporters before the meeting.

The German government has proposed putting Opel under a trustee to allow time for talks to continue with investors. Kirchner said Germany and GM would have equal rights to Opel under that plan.

"The pooling of assets is the first step. Then you can expect that a substantial part of these assets will go into a trustee structure."

Steinmeier said he was confident that government bridge financing would be nailed down. Economy minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Germany needed to reach an agreement with U.S. officials and GM about how Opel might be transferred to a new owner or investor. "We absolutely need this agreement with the U.S. side,” Guttenberg said, adding that a bankruptcy filing for Opel was still possible if all other options failed.

It was unclear whether yesterday’s meeting would bring clarity on what, if any, suitor will secure Opel.

"It is rather unlikely that the result of tonight will be that future negotiations will be conducted with one investor alone," government spokesman Thomas Steg told reporters. He added that it was unclear whether a "ranking" of suitors would emerge.

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