Magna founder Stronach says he wants to help GM's Opel
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- Austrian-Canadian supplier Magna International wants to help Opel but it is too early to say what role it will play, Magna founder Frank Stronach said in a newspaper interview on Wednesday.
"We don't see ourselves as a white knight. We only want to help," Stronach told Austria's Kleine Zeitung in an interview published on its Internet site.
Magna intended to remain a car parts supplier but that did not exclude getting into other types of business, he said.
However, it was too early to say what role Magna might play in helping Opel, Stronach said.
"We supply Opel and it has to be in our interest that Opel does well. The market must not be lost," he said, adding that it was important to preserve existing jobs and create new ones.
"We don't talk about taking a stake. We are saying we want to help. Russia could also play a role in this, allowing Opel to secure its market there," he added.
Stronach said his company had about $1.5 billion in cash reserves and could easily enter into a business without endangering itself.
Speculation has been rising about whether Magna or Italy's Fiat would prevail in taking control of Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall.
General Motors must sell a significant stake in Opel to convince German politicians to use taxpayers' money to provide the cash-strapped carmaker with 2.6 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in loan guarantees
German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Tuesday that Magna has presented a rival offer to seize control of Opel ahead of Italy's Fiat. Guttenberg spoke after meeting senior representatives of Magna.
After the meeting, Guttenberg said Magna and Fiat have presented rough plans to invest in Opel. The concepts from Magna and Fiat are very different from each other, Guttenberg said.
Canada's Globe and Mail reported on Monday that Magna and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska are considering taking a 50 percent share in Opel. Magna would purchase about 20 per cent of Opel and Deripaska would possibly combine with Russian banks to pick up another 30 per cent, the newspaper said.
