(Bloomberg) -- Fiat SpA, the Italian carmaker taking a stake in Chrysler LLC, may spin off its automobile operations if it’s able to purchase General Motors Corp.’s European unit.
Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne will seek “over the next few weeks” to assess the viability of a combination and a new company, the board of the Turin, Italy-based carmaker said yesterday in a statement.
GM says it’s open to offers for the Germany-based Opel division, which is running out of cash and seeking 3.3 billion euros ($4.4 billion) in German aid. Fiat faces competition from other potential investors, including Magna International Inc., North America’s largest auto-parts maker. Fiat already plans to take control of Chrysler, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, in a deal announced by President Barack Obama last week.
“Instead of defending its niche market in Italy, Fiat decided to be a predator worldwide,” Luca Peviani, managing director at P&G Sgr in Rome, said before the announcement. “Italy will remain just an appendix of the empire.”
Marchionne said last week he regards Opel as an “ideal partner” and would concentrate on buying that part of Detroit- based General Motors after the unveiling of the Chrysler agreement. A combined company would have 80 billion euros in annual sales, the board said yesterday.
“The group would evaluate several corporate structures, including the potential spinoff of Fiat Group Automobiles and the subsequent listing of a new company which combines those activities with the activities of General Motors Europe,” it said in the statement.
Opel Competition
Magna has held talks with German government officials about a purchase of Opel. Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, owner of carmaker OAO GAZ, may be considering an offer, Rheinische Post reported April 29. The company declined to comment after initially denying interest.
Joerg Schrott, an Opel spokesman, said in a May 2 telephone interview that talks with interested parties will be held “in the coming days.” He declined to identify potential investors.
Bidders for Opel, based in Ruesselsheim outside Frankfurt, will meet with GM this week to seek clarity over financial data before each presenting an “industrial plan,” German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said April 28.
GM and Chrysler have been kept afloat with U.S. government aid. As part of the deal for Chrysler to seek court protection and begin handing over the reins to Fiat, the No. 3 U.S. automaker will get as much as $3.5 billion in operating loans from the government. Fiat has agreed to make engines and cars in the U.S.
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