Word: magnas
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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With the new General Motors Corp. expressing second thoughts about selling Opel to Canadian partsmaker Magna International Inc. - or anyone else, for that matter - a flip side to GM's indecision has emerged. Why would Magna want Opel when acquisition of the bankrupt European carmaker could jeopardize billions of dollars in business with existing customers - and possibly lead to its ruin...
Negotiations between GM and Magna - based in Aurora, Ont., it's one of the world's biggest auto-parts suppliers, with annual revenue of $23.7 billion - have hit one roadblock after another. A key sticking point is disagreement over Magna's right to use GM's technology and engineering, particularly in Russia and Eastern Europe, where the parts company has plans for aggressive expansion. (See the most exciting cars...
...parties work through these prickly issues on the main stage, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel promising as much as $7 billion in badly needed state aid to Opel if Magna emerges victorious, another drama is developing behind the scenes. Some of Magna's biggest customers on both sides of the Atlantic, including Chrysler and Volkswagen, may decide to move future contracts with Magna to suppliers who are not in the business of selling cars. (Read "Merkel Saves Opel from GM's Fate...
Some analysts argue Magna is making a big mistake if it acquires Ruesselsheim-based Opel and its European subsidiaries, which employ 50,000 workers, most of them in Germany. "A third of the parts companies out there are in trouble right now," says Toronto analyst Dennis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. "This is an unprecedented opportunity for Magna to build its core business...
...Magna's two biggest competitors, U.S.-based Lear Corp. and Delphi, are teetering on the brink of collapse. Lear filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a month ago, citing the need to restructure $3.6 billion in debt. Meanwhile, Delphi, a former GM subsidiary based in Troy, Mich., and that automaker's biggest parts supplier, emerged from bankruptcy protection in June after unloading $6.2 billion in pension liabilities on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), a U.S. government agency whose job is to protect private pension plans. (See the 50 worst cars of all time...