A labour leader at General Motors' Opel unit confirmed reports the state of North Rhine-Westfalia held talks with Abu Dhabi on possibly investing in the unit and said he was not opposed to it.
Rainer Einenkel, head of the works council at Opel's plant in the North Rhine-Westfalia city of Bochum, also said yesterday there were a number of financial investors interested in Opel. North Rhine-Westphalia and the state of Hesse have already held talks with them, the labour leader said, without naming the potential investors involved.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg as saying he didn't rule out the possibility of holding talks with Abu Dhabi to save General Motors Corporation's Opel unit.
Ailing Opel, which has said it needs €3.3 billion ($4.47 billion) in state aid to avert lay-offs and plant closures, is under pressure to win private-sector support, a precondition set by Chancellor Angela Merkel for state loan guarantees.
So far, there have been no serious public declarations of interest in investing in Opel, with speculation about who may throw a hat in the ring.
Einenkel confirmed media reports Juergen Ruettgers, Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, had held talks with Abu Dhabi last week. He said premium-car maker BMW had expressed interest in Opel's plant in the eastern German city of Eisenach, but said talks had been put on ice.
A BMW spokesman said the company was not interested in buying the plant.
A number of other carmakers, including Daimler and PSA Peugeot-Citroen, said they were not considering a move on the GM unit.