General Motors announced concrete details on Thursday about the planned sale of its European subsidiary Opel. But the sale of the beleaguered carmaker could still drag on for months. A statement released on Thursday afternoon after a meeting of GM Europe in Zurich said that there were still "important points" that needed to be clarified with the prospective buyers -- Canadian-Austrian car parts supplier, Magna and Russia's Sberbank -- in the coming weeks.

Among the conditions being set by GM for the sale is a written confirmation from employee representatives that they will agree to the necessary cost-saving measures as well as the completion of a definitive financing package from the German government and states where Opel has plants in the country. "The definitive agreements should be ready to sign within a few weeks, with closing to follow within the next few months," the statement said.

For months, bitter negotiations kept the outcome far from definite, but now with Thursday's decision Opel's fate appears to have been sealed.

GM senior negotiator John Smith said Thursday that Magna and Sberbank both intend to preserve all four Opel plants in Germany. But Magna does plan to eliminate 3,000 jobs in Germany and 10,000 across Europe. As part of those measures, GM said the company's plant in Antwerp, Belgium, would close.

Meanwhile, the head of the the German government-backed trust that has overseen Opel since it became clear GM would declare bankruptcy, is also placing conditions on the sale. Fred Irwin, the head of the trust, said that planned German-government backing to the tune of €4.5 billion could not be used for investments in Russia.

German Government Determination 'Rewarded'

The agreement foresees Magna and Sberbank purchasing a 55-percent stake in Opel, with GM retaining 35 percent and the remaining 10 percent going to workers. The statement also said that GM would continue to develop vehicles on an international level together with Opel. This would allow all stakeholders to benefit from the new ownership deal, and would include the exchange of technology and development capacity.

"We thank all parties involved in the intensive process of the last few months -- especially the German government -- for their continued support that enables this new venture," GM chief Fritz Henderson said. "GM will continue to closely collaborate with Opel and Vauxhall to develop and produce more great cars, such as the new Insignia and the new Astra." Henderson thanked the German government for its support and customers for their "continued loyalty."

German government officials said they were pleased with the agreement. "We overwhelmingly welcome this decision," Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday after talks with representatives of Opel's American parent company. The result "is in line with what the German government had wished for," Merkel said. It was also what the employees at Opel had wanted. Merkel said the path leading up to the deal had not been an easy one, but that "the patience and determination of the German government had been rewarded."

German States To Share Cost of Opel Aid

Roland Koch, the conservative Christian Democratic governor of the state of Hesse, where Opel is based in the city of Rüdersheim, also reacted quickly to the news. He signaled his state's readiness to come to Opel's aid financially, to the tune of billions of euros. The governor said his state would be ready to provide up to €1.5 billion of the €4.5 billion in government bridge loans needed by Opel.

Jürgen Rüttgers, governor of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Opel has a major plant in Bochum, said his state would also join the federal government and other states in providing aid to the company. The economics minister of Thuringia, Jürgen Reinholz, said that the state was still taking advice on what sort of financial aid it would provide Opel. "But we will surely find a solution," he said. The German states and the federal government had agreed to split the bill for helping Opel. The states have said they want to work out their share of the promised aid based on how many of their residents are employed by Opel.

But while the various politicians were celebrating, the reaction at Magna was more subdued. "We are not yet through this," an insider at the company told SPIEGEL ONLINE. GM will only be a thoroughly dependable business partner once a deal is signed the source said. "But only once the deal is signed," the insider said. "We can't allow ourselves to be misled." During negotiations, too many people had been "led astray over and over again," the insider noted.

What the Deal Means For Opel And Germany

On Thursday, GM did'nt place any other conditions on Magna that were not already on the table. After all the conditions already in place had been met, the deal could go ahead. In concrete terms this means: