The supervisory board of General Motors Corp.'s (GM) German Adam Opel GmbH unit Wednesday officially recognized the transfer of European plants, rights and patents from GM to Opel, making a separation of Opel from GM more likely.

A spokesman for Opel declined to comment when asked if an investor could now take over Opel debt-free, like news agency Reuters reported, citing Opel works council chief Klaus Franz.

Company Web site: www.opel.com

-By Eyk Henning, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725 506; eyk.henning@dowjones.com