The deal struck on the future of General Motors Corp.'s (GM) German unit Adam Opel GmbH with Austrian-Canadian car parts maker Magna International Inc. (MGA) is non-binding, German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Wednesday.

"The takeover by Magna is as concrete as a non-binding memorandum of understanding can be," zu Guttenberg told reporters. "There are two negotiating partners who are in takeover talks...and we now hope that there will be a signing of an agreement."

The German government early Saturday said it selected Magna as a partner for Opel and agreed on providing EUR1.5 billion in bridge financing from the federal and state governments, paving the way for a takeover by Magna and its two Russian partners.

   -By Andreas Kissler, Dow Jones Newswires, +49 (0)30 - 2888 410, 
andreas.kissler@dowjones.com

(Andrea Thomas contributed to this report)