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The future ownership of General Motors' Vauxhall/Opel operations took a further twist today as fellow European operator Fiat readied itself for a bid.
News that the Italian carmaker is seriously considering tabling an offer highlights just how dramatically the German-preferred takeover of the business by Canadian car parts maker Magna has fallen back in the race.
Until a GM board meeting last Friday, it was seen as merely a matter of time before the Magna deal was done.
However, the board rejected that deal and instead began considering scrapping the sale altogether and retaining its European operations in the hope of capitalising on a longer-term revival. Yesterday, it emerged that Lord Mandelson was prepared to commit UK taxpayers' money to GM if it would safeguard British jobs.
Fiat's interest follows its sudden recent catapulting up the global league tables by its alliance with Chrysler, the other US car giant brought to bankruptcy and bailed out by the American taxpayer. That deal boosted Fiat's production hugely and has clearly given the resurgent group a taste for buying troubled businesses with big brands.
In May when the Chrysler deal was being negotiated, Fiat did propose extending the alliance to include Vauxhall and Opel but the deal never happened. Italian media reports today said Fiat was convinced Magna did not have a proper industrial plan for Opel, and that its offer is solely focused on financial engineering.
It was not immediately clear what the implications of a Fiat deal might be for the 5000 Vauxhall workers at Luton and Cheshire's Ellesmere Port might be. However, as with the Chrysler plan, Fiat would probably want to bring its proven success at launching small cars to bear on the business. Its own relaunch of the iconic 1960s Fiat 500 is one of the few major success stories in the car world of the last five years. Vauxhall's Corsa and Agila small cars are seen as lacking the stylish look of the Fiat.
The long drawn-out process to find new investment for Vauxhall/Opel has been worrying for the tens of thousands of workers employed by the firm and its suppliers.
But it has also been hugely costly in terms of advisory fees and other overheads. It was reported today that the process had so far cost $1.1 billion (£673 million).
Some industry observers have said the sudden decision by the GM board to consider shelving the sale could be little more than a negotiating tactic to push Magna or the German government into offering better terms.
With an eye on a September election and the 20,000-strong Opel workforce in German, Chancellor Angela Merkel has offered €4.5 billion (£3.9 billion) of state aid to a Magna bid.
