Three bidders seen in race for GM's unit Opel

The pursuit of German car maker Opel, a unit of General Motors, appears to have narrowed to a three-way race between Italy's Fiat, Canadian-Austrian car parts group Magna and investment firm RHJ International.

Fiat confirmed it had submitted an offer for Opel and British brand Vauxhall by a Wednesday deadline set by the German government.

The pursuit of German car maker Opel, a unit of General Motors, appears to have narrowed to a three-way race between Italy's Fiat,  Canadian-Austrian car parts group Magna and investment firm RHJ International.

Both units belong to struggling US car maker General Motors. GM faces a June 1 deadline to restructure and is expected to file for bankruptcy within weeks. GM will decide which investor gets Opel. But the German government will also play a big role because it would likely provide billions of euros in financing. Fiat recently agreed to take a stake in US car maker Chrysler. It would like to add Opel and other GM Europe assets to the mix to create the world's second-largest auto group.