Germany talking to more possible Opel bidders

An Opel advertising sign is pictured on the roof of a car showroom in Vienna June 3, 2009. Sign reads ' What the future brings...'

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is still talking to potential investors in carmaker Opel which have not been identified publicly, German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Thursday.

Germany reached a preliminary agreement with Canadian auto parts group Magna International Inc MGa.TO last month over a takeover plan for Opel, General Motors Corp's GMGMQ.PK European unit.

However, the government has stressed that nothing has been finalized and rival suitors cannot be ruled out.

"We are still in contact with other investors," said Guttenberg at a joint news conference with British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson.

"(Chinese automaker) BAIC for example ... and others that I will not speak about here."

Guttenberg added he believes Italian automaker Fiat SpA (FIA.MI) also still has its eye on Opel.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Fiat's proposal for Opel is still on the table.

"We are waiting for the situation to clarify itself," he told reporters after talking with Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne at a Rome ceremony. Fiat closed its takeover of bankrupt U.S. automaker Chrysler on Wednesday.

FIAT STILL IN RUNNING?

Roland Berger, a well-known German consultant who sits on Fiat's board of directors and who had been hired by GM to help find an investor for Opel, said in a newspaper interview on Thursday that Fiat could still be in the running for Opel.

"Fiat's industrial plan is the best and most attractive plan because it would have created a global group with pan-European roots that would be very strong," he told Corriere della Sera. "This is not the last word."

Mandelson confirmed that Britain is prepared to offer financial support for the plan to rescue Opel, which includes British unit Vauxhall. He did not give any details.

Vauxhall employs 5,000 workers at plants in Luton, north of London, and Ellesmere Port in northwest England.

Magna wants to cut 11,600 jobs at GM's European operations, German daily Die Welt reported on Thursday, citing Magna's preliminary business plan for Opel. A German official had said around 10,000 jobs could go.

The Wall Street Journal said on Thursday Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) was also interested in buying Volvo, Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Swedish car maker.

A team of BAIC executives is likely to visit Volvo's Gothenburg, Sweden, headquarters as early as Thursday to meet with its executives and tour its research and development and manufacturing facilities, the newspaper said, citing three people familiar with the situation.

(Additional Reporting by Gilles Castonguay and by Paolo Biondi in Rome; Editing by Greg Mahlich)