Magna postpones talks with European Opel dealers

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Talks between Canadian auto parts supplier Magna and the European Opel dealership association, Euroda, were postponed on Monday by roughly two weeks to July 22, Euroda Vice-Chairman Albert Still said on Tuesday.

Still declined to comment on whether the delay to hold meetings over greater dealer influence in a future Magna-Opel group was due to a snag in negotiations between Magna Opel parent General Motors and Magna.

"That would be reading tea leaves," Still said.

A source familiar with Magna's thinking confirmed the meeting had been postponed but said this "certainly had nothing to do with how the talks with GM were proceeding."

Another person involved in the negotiations attributed the delay to growing external pressure from government officials for GM and Magna to reach a deal by mid-July.

Criticized by some dealers for lacking the experience in selling cars that rival bidder Fiat has, Magna has been considering whether dealers should have a direct equity participation in the future sales structures.

Euroda itself has offered to buy a stake of about 15 percent in a new Opel for some 500 million euros financed by contributions from its 4,000 members but it wasn't taken up on its offer.

"Magna initially displayed little interest in dealer participation in the production facilities, but signaled in the early discussions that participation in sales was quite conceivable," Euroda said in a statement published earlier in the day.

Magna declined to comment.

(Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner; editing by Simon Jessop)