Germany regrets GM's Opel decision, wants money back

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government regrets a decision by the board of General Motors Co to retain Opel, a government spokesman said.

Germany expected GM to repay 1.5 billion euros in bridge financing provided by German state banks, the spokesman said, adding that the takeover plan made by a Russian-backed group led by Canada's Magna had a convincing industrial logic.

Germany had backed Magna's plan.

"The government regrets the decision of the General Motors board to restructure Opel itself and to keep it in the group," government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said in a statement.