PwC sees risks to Magna's Opel takeover -newspaper

BERLIN Oct 6 (Reuters) - Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC) has identified several risks involved in Magna's MGa.TO plan to take a 55-percent stake with Russian partner Sberbank (SBER.RTS) in German carmaker Opel, Handelsblatt daily said.

The business daily, citing sources in the talks for Opel's future, said PwC sees "a considerable risk for error" in the sales projections, in an article to appear on Wednesday.

PwC added that the Canadian auto parts supplier's plans to revitalise Opel are "not very robust" and that there was not enough room for deviations on the downside. But PwC nevertheless said Opel's fiscal health could "in principle be restored".

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government openly backed Magna over financial investor RHJ (RHJI.BR). Germany propped up Opel with a 1.5 billion euro bridge loan in May to ensure it did not get swept into GM's brief bankruptcy proceedings.

The federal and state governments are ready to provide billions more once the Magna deal closes.

Unions are negotiating with Magna and Opel minority owner General Motors [GM.UL] over a restructuring plan that would lead to thousands of job cuts across Europe.

Magna has said it plans to cut about 10,500 Opel jobs in Europe, the bulk in Germany, as it acts to return the carmaker to profit and pay back 4.5 billion euros in state aid.

Germany hopes Magna's expertise will preserve as many jobs as possible in Germany, where Opel employs 25,000 people.

(Writing by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by Simon Jessop)