Talks between General Motors Corp (GM) and the German government over which of two bidders will take control of GM’s Opel unit have run into “serious challenges,” according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
GM’s board, in a telephone conference call meeting on Friday, made no decision between bids from a consortium led by Canada’s Magna International Inc and Brussels-based investor RHJ International SA.
The board instead questioned the aid package offered by the German government in the deal because it only included an option to fund the Magna group, said the person, who didn’t want to be identified because the talks are ongoing.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
The government has been clear it wants the Magna group, which includes Russian lender Sberbank, to gain controlling interest in Opel. GM has said it would prefer RHJ because the Magna-Sperbank bid raises the possibility of GM patents and other intellectual property falling into competitors’ hands.
A German government official said the government “regrets” that the board didn’t make a decision and said talks will continue this week. The person, who requested anonymity because the talks are private, said officials are confident that solutions will be found.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an interview published on Friday, renewed backing for Magna, saying its bid is “the better concept.”
“As things stand, I view the chances for the financial investor RHJI very critically,” Merkel was quoted as telling the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Our preferences lie clearly with Magna. Magna has experience in car building and the better concept.”
“Without doubt, the Russian component definitely makes sense,” Merkel said, according to the report. “And I see many chances there.”
Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper that he expected a “basic assessment” on the bids but it is a “matter for GM” whether it makes a decision yet.
Government spokesman Klaus Vater declined to say whether Germany would accept a decision in favor of RHJ.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS