Russian AvtoVaz to rescue Opel

Auto giant General Motors Corp which includes its German unit Opel is on the brink of bankruptcy. Some experts say that GM may become bankrupt already in May.

Opel likewise General Motors is also experiencing hard times. The global financial crisis caused severe decrease in demand on cars.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel came to GM unit Opel empty handed, saying she would help Opel find an investor but stopping short of making concrete promises.

That is why the offer made by Russian company Rostehnologii to buy out 51 percent Opel shares seems to be the only way out for the German automaker.

The fact that there are no alternatives to the Russian offer is perfectly understood by the German authorities. That is why when General Motors presented its plan to save Opel saying that Opel and Vauxhall would be partly spun off into a new subsidiary, the German government said that the plan in absolutely inadequate.

Later General Motors Corp said it had not approached the British government to discuss a 600 million pound aid package for its Vauxhall marquee.

The FT, quoting Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of trade union Unite, had said Vauxhall's managing director raised the request with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).

Online business media source Bigness.ru found out that the merger between Opel and AvtoVaz was discussed on the highest levels already last December. Now the parties are developing the technical parts of such an agreement.