2nd UPDATE: Fiat Presented Offer For GM's Opel, Vauxhall Wed

Fiat SpA (FIATY) said Wednesday it has presented a formal offer for General Motors Corp.'s (GM) European units Adam Opel AG and Vauxhall.

In an emailed statement, the Turin-based carmaker said that if the deal is finalized, the new company will merge Fiat Group Automobiles, including Chrysler's stake, and Opel.

"LatAm and South Africa operations are the second step of Fiat's expansion plan," a person with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday noting that a further move would be made once the outcome of Opel's offer will be clear.

The German government is going to start evaluating the bids Wednesday, German state TV reported late Wednesday.

Fiat is keen to acquire GM Europe units to merge them with its own auto unit and with Chrysler, in a bold move to tap government funds to finance a reduction of the auto industry's chronic overcapacity through a horizontal merger between similar, mass-market brands.

General Motors is selling GM Europe, which includes Opel in Germany, as well as Vauxhall in the U.K. and Saab in Sweden, to raise cash as it faces a possible bankruptcy filing in the U.S. as soon as later this month.

An offer for Saab may be filed in the following weeks, a person with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.

In the last four weeks, Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne has traveled extensively to the U.S. and Germany in an attempt to ink a three-way merger between Fiat-Chrysler and General Motors' European operations.

Fiat is seeking financial support from local governments to succeed and become a rival to global players like Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) or Germany's Volkswagen AG (VLKAY). Austrian-Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc. (MGA), jointly with Russian car maker Gaz Russia (GAZA.RS), have signalled their interest in GM Europe.

Belgium-based RHJ International (RHJI.BT) is also interested, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

RHJ didn't return calls late Wednesday seeking comment.

-By Sabrina Cohen, Dow Jones Newswires, [phone]; [e-mail]

(Christoph Rauwald and Roman Kessler contributed to the report.)