(Adds statements by German state premier Roland Koch.)
BERLIN (Dow Jones)
"The talks, which had been held already very extensively between the German government, the Opel task force and representatives of the U.S. government and GM over the past few weeks, will continue early next week," the person close to the German government said.
These talks are likely to be conducted via telephone, the person said, adding that already in the past few weeks most of the talks between the various parties were held in that fashion.
German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg on Saturday said he still saw chances for an agreement between GM and the U.S. and German governments.
"There is room for an agreement," zu Guttenberg said Saturday, according to a spokesman.
Zu Guttenberg said he regrets the fact that contrary to his expectations, GM didn't make a decision Friday on the sale of Adam Opel GmbH to either Magna International Inc. (MGA) or RHJ International SA (RHJI.BT).
The German economics minister said the German government believes it has provided GM with all the necessary information needed to have made a decision on Opel.
Both Magna and RHJ International have updated their bids and presented contracts that are ready to be signed, zu Guttenberg said according to his spokesman.
Without criticizing GM openly, the German economics minister thus rejected allegations the German government has sided too heavily with Magna and hasn't treated both bids equally.
Roland Koch, state premier of the central German state of Hesse, where Adam Opel GmbH's headquarters are, reacted with disappointment and anger to GM's decision Friday not to name a preferred partner for Opel/Vauxhall.
"All factual matters between GM and Magna were cleared up, and there is no justification for a postponement of the decision," Koch said in a press statement.
Late Friday, GM said its board hadn't made a decision on a preferred partner for Opel and its U.K.-based Vauxhall unit.
"The GM Board of Directors met today to discuss options for Opel. No decision was taken," GM Europe said in a short statement on Friday.
According to people familiar with the discussions on the GM board, GM executives Friday proposed a majority sale of the auto maker's Adam Opel division to Magna but failed to win the support of the company's newly appointed board of directors.
These people said that the GM board criticized the fact that the two bids weren't treated equally and demanded more details of a possible financial backing of RHJ International's bid by the German government.
GM appears to be interested in preserving ties with Opel, long a crucial player in GM's product development. Continued ties with Opel are seen as a critical cog in GM's plan to remain a global player, and some analysts have suggested such ties might be more easily preserved in a tie-up of Opel with a purely financial investor such as RHJ.
The German government, by contrast, has repeatedly indicated it prefers and will back financially a sale to Magna as it believes the car supplier, which wants to use patents developed by Opel, has a more convincing industrial concept for the future of Opel.
What's more, Magna has teamed up with Russian savings bank OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS) and aims to become a strong player in the Russian car market - another prospect GM would like to avoid.
Spokespeople for Magna and RHJ International couldn't be reached for comment Saturday.
Klaus Franz, the influential works council head at Opel, called upon GM to reach an agreement quickly with the German government over Opel.
"Things are taking a clear direction towards Magna," Franz told Dow Jones Newswires on Saturday.
-By Beate Preuschoff and Klaus Brune, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 500; klaus.brune@dowjones.com
(Nico Schmidt in Frankfurt and John Stoll in Detroit contributed to this report)