Holden and its parent company General Motors have rejected a proposal from British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta to buy manufacturing assets at its former automotive assembly plant in Adelaide.
An offer from GFG Alliance was considered, a statement from Holden has confirmed.
However, the company also said that at no stage were the two parties close to an agreement, stating that many of the assets in question had been identified for redeployment, globally.
It was widely reported last month that Gupta’s company had approached the South Australia state government with a proposal to build electric vehicles at the renamed Lionsgate Business Park, based in Elizabeth.
The automotive factory closed last October – marking the end of the car manufacturing industry in Australia. The site was bought by Melbourne-based developer, Pelligra Group, in December.
“GFG Alliance’s proposal to purchase selected manufacturing assets was comprehensively assessed by GM and Holden and the decision was taken not to proceed with the offer,” a Holden spokesperson said.
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“At no stage were any of the parties near agreement on the purchase of these manufacturing assets.
“Many of the assets sought by GFG Alliance had already been identified by GM for redeployment to other GM sites globally.”
The statement continues to explain that GM had assessed the proposal and took into consideration:
- The value of GFG Alliance’s offer;
- The intellectual property developed by GM and Holden over many years;
- Other commercial factors including plans already in train for redeploying some of this equipment.
For other assets, there was “a significant distance between the value our company and GFG Alliance placed on them”, Holden has also said.
“Throughout this process, Holden has accommodated all requests from GFG Alliance for information and access to the plant,” a spokesperson continued.
“GM also delayed the public auction of surplus assets to give due consideration to the proposal from GFG Alliance.
“GM thanks GFG Alliance for their approach and the South Australian Government for its interest in this matter.”