Two German states on Sunday agreed to support a bridge loan for General Motors Corp.'s Opel unit, putting the final touches on a deal for Canada's Magna International Inc. to acquire the automaker.

Under the deal, pushed through to protect Opel before GM's likely bankruptcy filing on Monday, Magna will take a 20 per cent stake in Opel and the Russian-owned Sberbank will take a 35 per cent stake, giving their consortium a majority. GM will retain a 35 per cent holding, while the remaining 10 per cent will go to Opel employees.

"The time of uncertainty is over," North Rhine-Westphalia governor Juergen Ruettgers said of the deal. "The main components of Opel's future remain in Europe."

The German government and four state governments where Opel has operations have now pledged to provide a €1.5 billion ($2.11 billion US) bridge loan for the deal, part of which will be available immediately.

Following agreement on the plan early Saturday after talks through the night, the governors of Thuringia and Rhineland-Palatinate immediately approved their respective shares of $73.31 million and $140.98 million US.

The state parliaments in Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, where coalition governments are in control, voted Sunday to approve their respective shares of $630.18 million and $211.47 million US.

"We've decided that there is to be a new European company," Hesse governor Roland Koch said. "I think that for Opel and its employees it is an unbelievable chance."

Foresees up to 8,500 job cuts

Opel employs 25,000 people in Germany, nearly half of GM Europe's work force.

As part of the deal, all four factories in Germany would stay open, though Magna previously has said it would need to shed some 2,600 jobs.

German government officials said Magna's plan anticipated between 7,500 and 8,500 job cuts across Europe.

Opel and Vauxhall have operations in Belgium, Spain and Poland among other countries.

The agreement with Magna, based in Aurora, Ont., puts Opel under the care of a trustee, designed to shield it from GM's likely bankruptcy.

Germany had stressed the need for a trustee to ensure taxpayer assistance does not flow to GM stakeholders in the U.S.

Other GM Europe assets, including British brand Vauxhall and its plants, were consolidated under the Adam Opel GmbH before the deal and will also enter the trusteeship. Sweden's Saab is not included in the deal.