Fiat mulling new bid for Opel: Report

MILAN: Italian auto giant Fiat may launch a fresh push to buy Opel, the European arm of US automaker General Motors, a press report said on Wednesday.

The firm is mulling a new attempt to buy the GM unit, based in Germany, as rival bids now appear unworkable, La Repubblica said.

"Fiat's management refuses to comment on the case but it has not drawn a line under the matter," the daily said, citing a company source.

Fiat pulled out of the race to acquire Opel in May, leaving Canadian auto parts maker Magna, backed by Russian state-owned lender Sberbank, and RHJ International as the main bidders.

Press reports on Tuesday suggested that GM was considering keeping Opel rather than sell it after Germany pressed for the Magna option while GM executives favour RHJ.

According to La Repubblica, Fiat believes Magna's plan is "fragile, since it mainly bets on Russia and certain eastern European markets, where sales have collapsed 50 per cent."

The Italian car maker's plan, on the other hand, is "built on an industrial plan," the newspaper said.

The German government has dropped its earlier opposition to GM selling Opel to RHJ, Bild newspaper reported Wednesday.