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AvtoVAZ Facing Take-Over? Asks just-auto.com

12 December 2000

AvtoVAZ Facing Take-Over? Asks just-auto.com

    LONDON, Dec. 12 http://just-auto.com -- The following
information was taken from an article on just-auto.com:

    The OAO GAZ, Russia's second-largest automaker, succumbed helplessly last
month to stealthy attacks of a corporate raider. But a more alarming prospect
looms: its compatriot AO AvtoVAZ, the biggest car producer across Eastern
Europe, may face similar take-over threats. The fate of AvtoVAZ's ownership is
crucial now according to the article written by just-auto.com's Ryan Tutak.
The full article can be accessed at
http://www.just-auto.com/features_detail.asp?art=400.
    General Motors Corp has been on the verge of approving an innovative
venture with AvtoVAZ for months, but fears of commercial and political risks
in Russia still prevail, and investment plans have been stripped from
$500m-$600m for making two models to $350m-$450m for making one model.  GM's
board of directors has deferred a decision on the project from October 3 to
December 5 -- and now to February 6.
    GM officials declined to comment for this story.  Sources close to the US
automaker said it was unmoved by reports of impending upheavals at AvtoVAZ,
believing any changes in control of the Russian company would not alter
prospects for the joint venture.
    But some observers feel an AvtoVAZ-GM deal could collapse, if ground
beneath the Russian company shifts significantly.
    Read the full article at
http://www.just-auto.com/features_detail.asp?art=400

    just-auto.com is the premier online portal for automotive industry
professionals worldwide.  Targeted specifically at industry and business
professionals the site provides a single point of reference for independent
automotive industry information.