Magna to save Opel

By: Almas Khan

Finance minister Peer Steinbrueck, said that a deal has been made. Germany agreed to a deal with Magna International which is a Canadian car parts maker, to take over Opel which is part of the US car maker GM. In Berlin German politicians, US government officials and executives from GM Magna have met. They met to discuss about General Motors which is a parent company of Opel, is going to file for bankruptcy protection in the US in the next five years. The German government is going to provide 1.5bn euros as a loan. Magna also said that it will put more than 500m euros into Opel. Magna is backed by a Russian bank and Truckmaker. The reason why this is so important for Germanys economy is because Opel employs more than 25,000 people in Germany. By June 1st the ownership of the US based business is going to be shared between the US government which will own 72.5% of it and the union's health trust which will own 17.5% and GM's former creditors.