NEWSMAKER-Magna's Stronach seeks to crown legacy with Opel

* Founder of Canadian parts firm seals deal for GM unit

* Emigrated from Austria at 21 with $200 and a suitcase

* Has passion for soccer, hard work and fast horses

By John McCrank and Helen Massy-Beresford

TORONTO/PARIS, May 30 (Reuters) - Magna International (MGa.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) chairman Frank Stronach, who left Europe a virtually penniless toolmaker over 50 years ago, is returning to fashion a carmaking dynasty after clinching a deal for Germany's Opel.

The 76-year-old Magna founder -- a rags-to-riches tycoon with a passion for soccer, hard work and fast horses -- emigrated to Canada aged 21 with $200 and a suitcase.

Now his auto parts firm has clinched a deal to take an Opel stake, after a fraught week of negotiations, with rival bidder Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Italy's Fiat (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research), insisting "life will move on" without Opel. [ID:nLU272618]

The son of a labour rights activist father and a factory worker mother, Stronach left school aged 14 to become a tool and die apprentice at a factory in Weiz, the town in the southeastern foothills of the Austrian Alps where he was born.