China's Beijing Automotive Industry Corp (BAIC) has expressed an interest in buying a stake in Opel together with the rest of General Motors' European operations, for which three other companies have already entered bids this week .
The Chinese carmaker sent a letter expressing interest in Opel to Commerzbank's Dresdner Kleinwort unit, which is advising GM on the stake sale, on Thursday - a day after a bidding deadline passed, according to two people close to the deal. BAIC could not be reached for comment, and a GM spokesman at its European headquarters in Zurich declined to comment.
BAIC's offer was described as an expression of interest rather than a formal bid, and is unlikely to move forward, one of the people said. Italy's Fiat, Canada's Magna, and Brussels-listed RHJ International all entered bids for the strategic stake on Wednesday, for which GM is seeking about €650m ($900m).