SolarWorld offers euro1B for Adam Opel's assets (German GM subsidiary)

[reorg]

Source: Yahoo News

By GEORGE FREY, AP Business Writer George Frey, Ap Business Writer
– Wed Nov 19, 10:45 am ET

BERLIN – German solar energy company SolarWorld AG said Wednesday it plans to offer euro1 billion in cash and credit for some assets of carmaker Adam Opel GmbH, the German subsidiary of financially strapped General Motors Corp. GM said it wasn't selling.

Bonn-based SolarWorld said in a statement it was planning to offer GM euro250 million ($350 million) in cash and another euro750 million ($945 million) in credit lines in a bid for four German production facilities and Opel's Ruesselsheim development center and headquarters, to make it Europe's first true "green" auto company.

SolarWorld said any deal would be dependent on GM completely exiting the company, and that it would seek a swap compensation payment from GM for euro40,000 ($50,400) per German employee in the transaction, or about euro1 billion.

...

SolarWorld, which makes electricity generating solar panels, is much smaller than GM by revenue. In the third quarter, SolarWorld earned euro36.1 million ($45.6 million) on sales of euro238.3 million ($301 million). GM lost $2.5 billion on revenue of $37.9 billion.

...

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081119/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_germany_opel_solarworld_8

[Dogmudgeon]

1. A "green" car company?

Sounds more like "let's diversify our company while we still have the capital -- before the recession kills us."

Between the recession/depression, cheap oil (from demand destruction), and the loss of a big chunk of public subsidies, "green" energy is going to be experiencing some heavy whiplash over the next couple of years.

I think this is a survival move on the part of SolarWorld. Fingers crossed.

--p!