Opel Bidding

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hr08nrDEqBeEC_LB-aXYuyanobTw

In an article about the offers for GM's Opel unit, several aspects of bidding become very apparent. First off is the significant lack of information. There are not a lot of hard data, because the deals are done behind closed doors to try and ensure a fair deal. The auction itself is similar to an English auction, where the competing companies keep upping their bids against what they think is the opponent's bid, until they reach certain personal value. The concept of "improving" deals is reflective of that. It also relates to the article in our homework, as bidding in an auction reveals a little bit about the bidders (the competing companies) to the auctioneer (GM and the public). It become impossible to maintain perfect privacy, but the companies do a good job keeping the details in the dark.

This is a site from the Baltimore Sun paper that talks about the bidding for General Motors Opel unit.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/sns-ap-eu-germany-opel-fiat,0,7248400.story

The bidding war for General Motors Opel unit of late has created a lot of questions as to who is the frontrunner for the company's division. In terms of the bidding, a big leader of the pack is Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat. He has stated that he is unsure of how he fairs in the bidding. He stated, "I'm not sure, it's a question of confidence." In reference to the secure bidding for GM, bidders are unaware for the most part of competition and the true details of who is the frontrunner. However, the media does like to portray who is bidding and who is the competition for someone like Marchionne. A downfall to Marchionne's bid is that he plans to combine Opel and Chrysler, leading to large amounts of job cuts. This calls into discussion bids that include opinions or likes and dislikes. For instance, in this case, a prediction of what someone will do with a company in the future could hurt a person's chances of winning the bid. The seller wants the buyer to put up a good price, but at the same time, morals are involved and the seller does not want to see the buyer destroy, or ruin some of the values of the company.