The head of the German state of Hesse government, Roland Koch, favors the concept presented by Magna International Inc. (MGA) for General Motors Corp.'s German unit Adam Opel GmbH, Koch said in an interview Friday on Deutschlandfunk radio.

"I believe that there is a certain ranking, in which the offer of Magna is certainly the one that is closest to the wishes and hopes of many ... in German politics, but also among employees," Koch said.

He said the offer of U.S. investor Ripplewood is also interesting, while the concept of Italy's Fiat SpA (F.MI) is far from "what was perhaps hoped for."

In Berlin, the government will meet Friday afternoon to discuss the offers and the Economics Ministry plans to give a statement afterwards, a government spokesman said.

Radio Station Web site: www.dradio.de

-By Natascha Divac and Sarah Sloat, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725500; natascha.divac@dowjones.com