Abu Dhabi might buy into car maker Opel

Abu Dhabi's royal family might be set to invest in the troubled German automaker Opel, a press report said on Monday.

The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper quoted family member Sheikh Hamdan indirectly as saying however that "no decision has been taken yet."

Sheikh Hamdan said that a meeting he had had last week with German regional premier Juergen Ruettgers of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, home to an Opel plant, was nonetheless "very positive."

Opel, a unit of distressed US giant General Motors, is looking for private investors to supplement aid sought from the government, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated she would like to share the burden with others too.

Abu Dhabi said late last month it would take a 9.1-percent stake in Daimler, the German owner of Mercedes Benz autos and the worlds leading truck maker, for 1.95 billion euros (2.64 billion dollars), becoming its biggest shareholder.