Ford, GM and JC Russian machines bid to buy Daewoo factory in Romania

[FISH]

http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/26200762590.htm

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 14:19


BUCHAREST (Thomson Financial) - Ford, General Motors and the Russian company JC Russian Machines have submitted bids to buy the Daewoo factory in Craiova, south Romania, the Romanian finance ministry said.

The government, which...


Continued Here: http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/26200762590.htm

[Media!]

Does anyone happen to know if by russian law they must go with the highest bidder?

[FordFan]

Why would GM bet on a Daewoo factory?

[5 watt]

Part of GM acquisition of Daewoo was that it didn’t pick up some of its manufacturing plants in eastern Europe. These factories had the right to build existing Daewoo. Now that Daewoo is on a roll, GM clearly wants them back.

[paul8488]

Great plant to built a Logan beater in!

[chrisbenz]

Originally Posted by paul8488

Great plant to built a Logan beater in!

That would be great

[carsfeverguy]

"Media! asked: Does anyone happen to know if by russian law they must go with the highest bidder? "


Hello!!! Romania and Russia are two different countries. They don't even have the same language. Romanian is a romance language(like Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese) while Russian is Slave(Cyrillic alphabet).

As for the decision, I believe the company now belongs to the Romanian Government, so they will decide to whom the plant goes.

Anyway, Romanian workers are known to be very qualified, so I hope GM can get some foothold there.

[mcool]

Let's go GM, snap it up already.

[asim]

Come on GM! Just start taking up all the good Daewoo stuff! lol

[redimpss5]

Daewoo has no good merits. Pass on it and spend money elsewhere, like RWD platforms that people want.

[AZian]

I think this is a strategic move on GM's behalf, as the eastern-european automarket is what industry experts deem "emerging." As GM's presence in the region is steady, the market as a whole is expanding. Let us not forget that most chevys sold overseas are merely rebadged daewoos. Since GM wants to expand chevy's presence in Europe, and labor costs in the balkans is much lower than other european nations, I see this as smart.

[gardnet1]

Originally Posted by redimpss5

Daewoo has no good merits. Pass on it and spend money elsewhere, like RWD platforms that people want.

It's not the rest of daewoo they want, it's the manufacturing facility in Eastern Europe. If Ford gets it, they should gradually start producting Jaguar models there to cut costs and increase profits. If GM gets it, they can either build Euro-Chevy's, or some other existing line to cut production costs. They could also just use the plant to supply a growing Eastern Europe, Russia and 3rd world markets.

[DmitryKo]

Originally Posted by Media!

Does anyone happen to know if by russian law they must go with the highest bidder?

Yes, according to Civil Code, art. 447. Too bad Russian laws have no effect in Romania.

[DmitryKo]

FYI, Russian Machines is a holding that incorporates the GAZ Group (GAZ, PAZ, LAZ, YaMZ and many other formerly independent factories which build buses, trucks and engines) along with several manufacturers of engineering vehicles and military equipment.

http://www.russianmachines.ru/

I'd guess they are probably seeking to acquire the technology and equipment to license small cars like the Daewoo Nexia/Cielo, the Lanos and the Matiz, since they have already licensed the previous generation Dodge Stratus (specifically, the Chrysler Sebring variant). The Russian analysts also suggest they will team with AvtoVAZ, which tried to bid for former Indian subsidiary of Daewoo Motors not long ago.

PS. http://www.prime-tass.ru/news/show.a...682213&ct=news

Moscow, April 27. PRIME-TASS. JSC Russian Machines bids to buy the Romanian automobile factory which was formely the property of Daewoo Motors.

The company officials disclosed that Russian Machines applied for the participation in the 1st stage of the tender to privatize the factory.

Dow Jones reports that Ford and General Motors are bidding alongside the Russian enterprise.

At the present time the Romanian factory still produces older Daewoo models like the Cielo, the Matiz and the Nubira (which is the previous generation Lacetti/Optra - DmitryKo)

The Romanian government states that the final bid price will not be a deciding factor. The winning party will be obliged to rebuild the factory and to use car parts from local suppliers. More that that, the winner will have to make at least 1 million cars annually.

The factory is capable of producing 200 thousand cars and 300 thousand engines annually. The Romanian government holds 72% of the shares.

JSC Russian Machines was formed by the Base Element company (formerly Siberian Aluminum or SibAl) to manage its machine-building assets. For example, Russian Machines hold the majority of shares in JSC GAZ.

[01cavalier]

I could see GM getting some good use out of this, would be a good place to assemble cheap cars.