Just days after the German government named Magna International as its preferred bidder for Opel comes spreading belief in the media that the Italian carmaker could be back in the frame if the Austro-Canadian firm cannot reach an agreement

Fiat's ambitious proposals to take over Opel seem to have finally come to an end with the news that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Magna International and with the German government agreeing to a bridging loan

Fiat's hopes to take control of Opel seemed to be coming to an end last night as word emerged from the talks in Berlin that the German government and the Russian-backed Magna International had reached an agreement for a takeover

The German government's efforts to find a buyer for Opel were thrown into turmoil this morning when Fiat announced that it wouldn't attend today's crunch meeting in Berlin as it unhappy with the financial demands that are being made

The German government under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with representatives of Fiat and Magna in Berlin today in another attempt to thrash out Opel's future after the last round of talks ended in failure two days ago

Last night's marathon German government meeting to thrash out Opel's future was turned upside down when the GM threw in a last minute demand for an extra 300 million euros in financing on top of the agreed 1.5 billion euros bridge loan

While all attention is being focused on Fiat's efforts to acquire Opel, it was confirmed by Swedish government minister yesterday that the Italian carmaker remains one of the bidders fighting to take over GM Europe's niche Saab brand

Reports overnight say that a crunch meeting of the German cabinet last night handed Fiat and Magna 'preferred bidder' status and these two companies will now be able to examine Opel's books in detail and make revisions to their bids

With Opel formally completing its legal separation from GM today it being reported that a decision on a bidder won't be made at this evening's crunch meeting in Berlin as the German government is still unhappy with the offers submitted

With the German government set to hold a key meeting on Opel's future this evening, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has said that he has reduced his demands for state aid in the event of a takeover by 1 billions euros to 6 billion euros

Fiat has chopped the amount of state loans it is looking for as frantic final negotiations go on with Opel's suitors hectically revising their plans to try to impress the German government in what has rapidly turned into a high powered 'beauty contest'

The German government has held talks today with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne over Opel's future with all parties describing them as constructive and more negotiations are set to follow tomorrow as the hours tick down to a bidder being chosen

With a decision on Opel expected to be announced early as tomorrow Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and Vice-Chairman John Elkann will meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in Berlin today

If Fiat's automobile manufacturing activities are spun out of the Fiat Group and merged with Opel, the Agnelli family's stake may not necessarily be diluted according to Gianluigi Gabetti, the chairman of family holding Giovanni Agnelli & Co

Talks are continuing between the German government and the three bidders for Opel - Fiat, Magna, reportedly the favoured investor, and RHJ - with negotiations between the former two being most intense due to the complexity of their bids

German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has expressed himself to be unswayed by the merits of the three bids lodged for Opel Wednesday despite Fiat's unexpected submission of a revised offer at the end of the week

With the bids already in for GM Europe's Opel/Vauxhall division, Fiat has dramatically submitted an improved offer today and it is now being reported that the other two interested parties, Magna and RHJ, are also preparing to up their bids

With its bid submitted for Opel on Wednesday, Fiat is trying to dampen media reports that around 18,000 redundancies would come with a merger between the two carmakers, instead saying that the job losses will be much lower

With GM Europe confirming that it has received three bids for its manufacturing operations, Fiat has announced that it has retained three financial leading institutions to guide any Fiat-Opel merger towards a European stockmarket listing

Fiat Group has this evening announced that it has met a German government deadline of today and submitted a proposal to merge GM Europe's Opel and Vauxhall with Fiat's own car manufacturing operations and its stake in Chrysler

After Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne met with Opel's IG Metall union yesterday, it has been revealed that Fiat won't be injecting any of its own capital into Opel if a deal is agreed and instead the restructuring will be reliant on government state aid

With Fiat's plan for an Opel merger expected to be submitted to the German government tomorrow and as concern continues to grow for the future of the Lancia brand, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has met with GM Europe' top executives

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has confirmed that Fiat will submit a detailed plan for a merger with GM Europe's Opel/Vauxhall division by the German government's deadline of next Wednesday (May 20) imposed for bids to be detailed

Following meetings this week in Frankfurt with their counterparts from Opel, workers from Fiat's Italian unions will travel to Turin today to demand answers as fears grow over job losses that could result from the merger between the two carmakers

Fiat Group Chairman Luca di Montezemolo has said that Fiat will continue to have its roots in Italy as the unions representing Fiat and Opel workers' prepare to meet in Frankfurt today to discuss the proposed merger and its impact on jobs

With opposition to the proposed Fiat-Opel merger growing the carmakers' Italian and German unions are set to meet on Wednesday while the German government is now expected to decide on a strategy for Opel's future this month

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne yesterday pitched his bid to take over Opel to the government leaders from the German regions where the brand's manufacturing facilities are located and found his greatest obstacle was concern over job cuts

A second action plan by Fiat for a merger with Opel has fallen into the hands of the German media and this time it is being claimed that it is the document presented to the German government by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne on Monday

The latest twist in the fast moving Fiat and GM discussions has come today with media reports claiming that GM may be prepared to hand control over its operations in Europe and Latin America in exchange for an equity stake in Fiat

Media stories today citing an internal Fiat report claim a merger between Fiat and Opel will result in 18,000 job losses, the closure of 10 factories, at least two of them in Italy, and the discontinuation of the 103-year-old Lancia brand

Saab is emitting mixed signals over reports this week claiming that it is in talks with Fiat about being part of the proposed Fiat-Opel merger, a spokesman saying that Fiat wasn't one of the ten interested parties it is in discussions with

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne outlined his proposal to create Europe's biggest carmaker to German ministers in Berlin yesterday, a plan that will call for 5-7 billion euros in state aid; ministers described his plans as being "interesting"

GM owned Swedish carmaker Saab, currently involved in a bankruptcy restructuring process, could be included in Fiat CEO's ambitious plans to create a new giant that would be made up of Fiat, Vauxhall/Opel and Fiat's stake in Chrysler

As Sergio Marchionne was preparing to fly to Germany this morning to push his case for a Fiat-Opel merger the Fiat board was meeting to review the alliance that was reached with Chrysler and to offer full backing the proposed Opel plans

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is in Germany today outlining ambitious plans to spin Fiat Group Automobiles out of the Fiat Group and merge it with GM's Vauxhall/Opel division and its 20 percent stake in Chrysler to create a new group

With Fiat having closed the alliance with Chrysler last last week the attention of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has turned to GM's Opel division and in his push to strike a second deal he will meet German government ministers tomorrow

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has blasted straight back at the comments made this morning by European Commissioner Guenter Verheugen who in a TV interview derided the idea that Fiat could successfully invest in GM's Opel division

German media reports this morning citing sources closely involved in the negotiations claim that Fiat is set to take a majority stake in General Motors' European businesses with a letter of intent to be signed next Tuesday

Fiat could form a new alliance with General Motors in the European and South American markets that would be in addition to its proposed relationship with Chrysler according to media reports that cite well placed sources