GM Sale Of Opel To PSA Could Be Completed Ahead Of Schedule

GM could complete the sale of Opel, its European arm, to the PSA Group as early as July 31.

When PSA Group agreed to buy Opel from General Motors last March, with the value of the transaction set at $2.3 billion, the two companies said that the deal could be completed by the end of the year.

But the original timeframe appears to have been significantly altered, with the deal set to be completed ahead of schedule, according to Reuters.

“We confirm that the closing is expected to take place in the second half of 2017 as planned, and that the date of 31 July constitutes a first assumption for the earliest possible date, subject to the decision of the competition authorities,” Opel said in a statement.

The acceleration of the procedure was made possible because GM formally agreed to protect factory jobs by signing binding contracts last week, according to a trade union source.

GM has signed agreements which give workers co-determination rights at Opel Automobile GmbH, the new company that will be sold to the PSA Group, and guaranteed it had set aside enough provisions to fund pension liabilities.

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