Russian billionaire in talks to buy Hummer

Russia's richest man, Oleg Deripaska, has held talks with General Motors about buying Hummer, the brand of gas-guzzling cars modelled on the US military's heavily armored Humvee combat vehicles.

The billionaire oligarch has had exploratory contact with GM, although any deal is some way off, sources close to the negotiations told Reuters.

Hummer's future has been in the balance since early June when GM announced a strategic review of the business and called in Citigroup to advise on financial options. Sales of the vehicles have plummeted by 40% in the US this year.

Deripaska, who is worth an estimated £14bn, made his fortune in aluminum and recently purchased a stake in Magna International, a Canadian car parts manufacturer. He is thought to be keen to get Magna involved in making Hummers.

A GM spokeswoman declined to comment on the discussions, saying only: "We are working through the process of a strategic review of Hummer." More at The Guardian