2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
The Russian Sberbank is looking for a Russian investor for Opel. Initially, the company controlled by the Russian state holds 35 percent of the shares and is pleased that the ailing Russian auto industry is being modernized.
Sberbank, which is controlled by the Russian state, does not want to hold shares in the German car manufacturer Opel on a permanent basis. "Sberbank does not plan to remain as a strategic partner in this business," said CEO German Gref on Thursday at the economic forum in St. Petersburg, as reported by the Interfax agency. After the restructuring, the main investor would be a Russian partner. According to Gref, Sberbank and the Austrian-Canadian auto supplier Magna want to pay 500 million euros for their stake in Opel. Sberbank is to take over 35 percent of the shares, Magna 20 percent.
Modernization of the Russian auto industry
The Sberbank stake will only be sold again after a successful reorganization, said Gref, without giving any deadlines. The goal is a "multinational group with a Russian investor". The concept with Magna envisages only minor job cuts at Opel in Germany. Other Opel plants abroad, however, would be much more affected. Gref once again emphasized that Russia had secured access to international cutting-edge technology at a uniquely low price by engaging in Opel. The most important goal of the investment is to modernize the ailing Russian auto industry.
According to media reports, the GAZ auto company, which will be producing the Opel models in the future, is in debt to Sberbank with around one billion euros. At the end of last week, Magna and Sberbank were awarded the contract for Opel with the approval of the German government. Magna and Sberbank hope to sell one million Opels per year on the Russian market in the future. In 2007 there were almost 70,000 vehicles from the brand with the lightning bolt.
