It is worth noting that the attempt to sell Opel by the American corporation was not the first — previously, such a deal had already fallen through.

According to Reuters, citing authoritative German publications Auto Bild and Spiegel Online, among the possible contenders for the acquisition of the brand are Chinese automakers, as well as the German concern Volkswagen, which owns several brands. Neither GM, nor Opel, nor Volkswagen gave official comments on this matter. Later, Opel CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke in a letter to company employees called these talks nothing more than speculation.

In 2009, amid the economic crisis, General Motors announced its intention to part with the Opel brand. Among those wishing to get the European brand was also the joint Austrian-Russian consortium Magna-Sberbank. In September of that year, GM's board decided to be ready to transfer Opel to the Russian side. German Chancellor Angela Merkel then confirmed that GM's board of directors approved the sale of Opel to Magna in the form that was discussed and supported by the federal government.

But at the last minute, GM's management changed its mind. In November 2009, the board of directors of the American concern at a meeting in Detroit decided to keep Opel, explaining this by the fact that the economic situation in Europe had begun to improve.

Such an unexpected decision caused bewilderment in the Russian government, which was also involved in negotiations with GM. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin noted that the Americans' refusal to complete the deal does not harm Russia's interests, although the country was ready to provide support. He recalled that the government approved Sberbank's participation in the consortium and provided it with political support. Moreover, shortly before that, in a conversation with the German Chancellor, Putin confirmed the readiness of the Russian government to provide state guarantees in the amount of 250 million euros to ease the burden for the German government and financial institutions. At the same time, as the Prime Minister emphasized, Russia had its own interest: the implementation of the Opel rescue plan involved investments in the Russian automotive industry and partial technology transfer within the framework of this program. Putin added that the collapse of the deal at the last moment indicates a rather peculiar manner of communication of American partners with their counterparts.

«I think this will be a lesson for us, and in the future we will take into account such a style of doing business with partners. Although, I repeat, the dismissive attitude towards partners in this case is addressed primarily to Europeans, not to us», — this is how the Russian Prime Minister characterized the behavior of GM's management.