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BERLIN–Magna International emerged yesterday as a favourite to acquire General Motors Corp. unit Opel after top German officials said the Canadian car parts group had submitted a better plan than rival bidders Fiat and Belgian-listed private equity investor RHJ International.

At a briefing in Berlin, Magna co-chief executive Siegfried Wolf laid out its Opel plan for the first time, confirming it aims to team up with Russian partners but leave existing GM Europe managers to run the new group.

Crucially, Wolf vowed to retain all four Opel plants in Germany, where politicians face a federal election in September.

"Under our concept, the German sites are seen as assets and we want to keep as many jobs as possible," Wolf said. "There is a lot of know-how within the German Opel plants."

German economy minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg emerged from a meeting of top ministers at which the offers were evaluated and said none of the bidders had been ruled out, but that the Magna offer had strengths.

"It would be premature to write anyone off. But it is true that we have heard many concrete things from Magna," he said.

German foreign minister and vice-chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier described the Magna bid as the only "sustainable" plan among the three and said it would be examined closely.

Both ministers said a decision on a preferred bidder would come next week after another meeting of ministers Monday.

But state premiers from the four German states where Opel has plants had diverging views on the Magna plan. Most backed it but Juergen Ruettgers, of North Rhine-Westphalia, said it was unacceptable and needed changes.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne was cautious about the prospects for Fiat’s bid in brief remarks to reporters.

"It’s hard to say how it will end up," he said in Rome on his way to a dinner with bankers. "It’s a complicated business because this is an election year in Germany."

He was quoted in the Italian press a day earlier as saying Fiat’s chances were better than 50-50.

Opel unions also voiced opposition to the Canadian firm’s plan, under which about 10,000 jobs would be cut in Europe, including some 2,500 in Germany. All but a few hundred of those would come from the Bochum plant in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Outside of Germany, GM Europe has plants that employ a combined 15,000 in Spain, Poland, Belgium and Britain, where British Vauxhall-branded versions of Opel vehicles are produced. Sweden’s Saab, also part of GM’s assets in Europe, is being sold separately.

GM and the German government are in a race against time to finalize a sale of Opel cash advance loan no fax. Headquartered in Ruesselsheim, near Frankfurt, it traces its roots in Germany to the 19th century.

The U.S. government has given GM until June 1 to restructure its operations or face bankruptcy.

The decision on who gets Opel will be made by GM. But the German government will play a big role because it is expected to provide billions of euros in financing guarantees to the eventual winner.

Magna is competing for Opel against Belgium-listed industrial holding company RHJ International, as well as Fiat.

The bidding has been coloured by politically charged pre-election debate in Berlin.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, including Guttenberg, are keen to preserve Opel jobs but want to limit the state’s role in any rescue.

The rival Social Democrats, led by Steinmeier, say the government should do all it can to save Opel and have sought to portray Merkel as insensitive to the fate of its workers.

Marchionne has led a public relations campaign in recent weeks, racing around in a Maserati and his trademark wool sweaters to meetings with top government officials.

Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini late yesterday put Fiat’s chances at 50-50 and dismissed talk that Magna’s bid would be successful as "preliminary skirmishing."

Marchionne wants to create the world’s second-biggest automaker behind Japan’s Toyota by adding the assets of Opel and British GM unit Vauxhall to a stable that includes the brands of Fiat and U.S. car maker Chrysler, now restructuring under U.S. bankruptcy protection.

The company has said it foresees fewer than 10,000 job cuts in Europe, but Germany would be harder hit than under the Magna plan, several politicians said.

The Fiat plan is seen by some in Germany, including Opel unions, as overly ambitious and unwieldy.

Also, Fiat has told the German government it would need up to 7 billion euros in support from relevant governments for its scheme, about 2 billion more than Magna and RHJ say they would require.

Magna’s Wolf said that, under his company’s plan, GM and Russian partner Sberbank would each hold a 35 per cent stake in Opel, with Magna taking 20 per cent and employees 10 per cent.

Russian car maker GAZ would be an industrial partner and the goal would be for Opel-GM to gain a 20 per cent market share in Russia in the short term and eventually sell 1 million vehicles there.

Wolf suggested that job cuts would centre on Opel sites in Belgium and Britain. The Magna consortium would invest 500 million to 700 million euros in Opel, he said.

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