Beijing Auto to make Opel bid soon

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding will present a detailed bid to General Motors (GM) for its Opel unit in Europe within a few days, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Beijing Automotive held discussions with beleaguered GM over the Opel unit last week and is currently working out details for a bid. However, GM in May signed a memorandum of understanding to sell a majority stake in Opel to Canadian supplier Magna International. Magna’s bid is backed by Russia’s Sberbank Rossia and automaker OZO GAZ Group. Opel’s labor unions have already spoken in support of the Magna bid. The head of the Opel workers council on Wednesday expressed reservations about the Chinese bidder. “They only want technology and have no experience in global auto production," said Klaus Franz.