Sources: GM reconsiders Opel sale

BERLIN, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. automaker General Motors is having second thoughts about selling German subsidiary Opel to a consortium that includes a Russian bank, sources say.

Quoting unnamed people close to the negotiations, The New York Times reported Tuesday that GM, which blew past a Friday deadline to finalize its plans for Opel, is reexamining whether it wants to deal with Magna, a consortium made up of a Canadian-Austrian car parts firm and Russia's largest state-owned savings bank -- angering German leaders who want a quick decision.

Political considerations are playing into the equation, the Times said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel Monday urged Washington to prod GM into making a quick decision on the struggling automaker ahead of next month's national elections as she campaigns for a second term.

GM's board of directors rejected Magna's offer last week and is seeking a better deal from the consortium, as well as exploring the possibility of keeping Opel as a GM unit or accepting a previously rejected offer from a European private equity firm with American roots, the Times said.

GM chief negotiator John Smith met in Berlin Tuesday with the German government's Opel task force without releasing a statement. He will resume negotiations Wednesday, the newspaper said.