GM's Opel Sale to Magna 'Further Along'

By George Frey

FRANKFURT-- A GM Europe spokeswoman said Wednesday negotiations for the sale of General Motors' (GMGMQ Quote) Opel to Canadian auto-parts maker Magna International (MGA Quote) were "further along," while confirming it had received a bid from China's Beijing Automotive.

Maggie He, a spokeswoman for GM China in Shanghai told the Associated Press that the Chinese automaker had made a bid for Adam Opel GmbH, confirming weeks of speculation. No details about the BAIC bid were released and phone calls to the company weren't answered.

GM Europe spokeswoman Karin Kirchner in Zurich also confirmed GM was in talks with BAIC but added the company was "concentrating on negotiations with Magna for a binding contract." ...