Roland Koch, state premier of the central German state of Hesse, expects a deal on Adam Opel GmbH to be signed Thursday, he said in Berlin Tuesday.

General Motors Co. said last month it would sell its Opel unit, as well as sister brand Vauxhall, to Austrian-Canadian car-parts maker Magna International Inc. (MGA) and Russian bank OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS).

"On Thursday, GM is expected to sign the deal," Koch said.

The financing plan for the EUR4.5 billion state aid for new Opel won't be finished by then but there should be an agreement on the main points, Koch added. However, Germany won't make its state aid conditional on other European countries with Opel plants also providing capital, he said.

Koch defended the government's financial commitment, saying "we haven't bought any jobs, we will even carry out the largest part of the headcount reduction." He added talks with U.K. on state aid for Opel are at a very advanced stage and has also held talks with Spain.

The premier of Hesse explained that time is almost up for Opel. "If the agreements falter, the company can no longer be saved. Also everyone in the U.K. and Spain knows this," he said.

Opel has plants in Spain, Belgium and Poland. Vauxhall has plants in the U.K.

Company Web site: www.opel.de

-By Matthias Karpstein, Dow Jones Newswires, +49 69 29 725 500; matthias.karpstein@dowjones.com