GM Board Revisits Sale of Opel to Magna

General Motors Co.'s board of directors will get one more chance to alter the auto maker's course in relation to its Opel and Vauxhall operations in Europe when it meets for its fourth formal meeting on the matter Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. The auto maker's board, formed in July after GM exited bankruptcy court, will be asked by the company's management team to approve the contents of a letter drafted in mid-October to address the European Union's concerns related to the sale of 55% of Opel to automotive supplier Magna International Inc. GM's board is revisiting the Magna deal because the EU raised questions about whether political pressure by Germany was too big a factor in GM's choice of Magna. German officials, emboldened by the €4.5 billion ($6.6 billion) commitment the country made to fund Opel's restructuring, were said to strongly favor a sale to Magna because the Ontario-based company committed to the least amount of job loss. German officials have publicly responded to the EU's concerns by saying that there were no strings attached to its loans to GM. The auto maker had also been considering a rival Opel bid for by RHJ International Inc., as well as an option under which it would keep Opel for itself. Those two options were investigated by GM's board in August and September, but ultimately were turned down. GM's board now has to decide whether it wants to take another look at its options, or simply tell Germany and the EU that it was economics, not political pressure, that drove the Opel deal. Read more. (Subscription required.)