THE new owner of General Motors’ (GM) European arm could be known later today or tomorrow.

The three parties who lodged bids last week were locked in talks with GM bosses and German government and union chiefs yesterday and last night.

Meanwhile the German finance ministry confirmed it had received an eleventh hour bid from China’s fifth largest car manufacturer, Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation.

The Berlin government is proposing to provide up to £6.2bn of state funding to ensure GM Europe, which includes the Opel and Vauxhall brands, avoids Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which is currently facing its US parent group.

GM in America has to submit a realistic reorganisation plan to the US government by June 1 to qualify for more financial support, or face filing for bankruptcy protection in a bid to come up with a viable rescue strategy in the face of plummeting car sales. German chancellor Angela Merkel said a swift deal to protect GM Europe’s 11 car plants – including Ellesmere Port and its 2,200 staff – was vital.

She said: “We must tie up all loose ends by mid-week.

“We do not want to end up in a situation where we become constrained by a possible Chapter 11 procedure.”

Italian car giant Fiat, Canadian car parts group Magna and Belgium-based financial investor RHJ International all lodged bids to buy GM Europe by last week’s deadline.