According to the German newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), the Economy Minister of the country has said that the decision pertaining to finalizing a bid for the German carmaker Opel still hangs in balance.

Going by a Monday statement in the paper, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has said: “I acknowledge Magna's ambitious goal, wanting to sign a contract by mid July. However, there still seem to be some unanswered questions.” Guttenberg added that as per the phase at present, “everyone is free to place offers.”

Guttenberg’s comments apparently cam in response to a statement by the General Motors’ Europe President Carl-Peter Forster, who informed another German newspaper that, very soon, he expects selling Opel to the Canadian auto parts supplier Magna.

Towards the end of May, there were reports about GM accepting an offer for Opel from Magna, whereby Magna and its partners - the state-controlled Russian bank Sberbank, and the Russian automaker GAZ. It was said that Magna and partners would likely put in US$977 million, for a combined majority stake of 55 percent in the company.

Reuters reported in June that GM and Magna were expected to finalize the deal by July 15.

Though Magna has been the frontrunner in its bid to acquire Opel, rival bidders Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Corp (BAIC), and Belgian holding company RHJ International, too are considering their chances!