Court-appointed administrator Werner Schneider said in a statement: "We now have two bidder concepts on the table that will be submitted to the creditors’ committee this Wednesday for a decision.

"I am working under the assumption that we will be able to reach an agreement with the creditors’ representatives and the banks providing collateral on Wednesday afternoon."

Talks with the individual bidders were said to be "complex and subject to intense time constraints", while the last details of the sale contract will only be worked out with the buyer or buyer once the creditors' committee has agreed on a course of action.

Schneider emphasised that his priority was job preservation and said that, based on current negotiations, it was "safe to assume that a sale would permit the continued existence of the company’s three sites in Augsburg, Offenbach, and Plauen".

However, it is accepted that downsizing will be an inevitable result of the sale process and with final numbers yet to be determined, unions are braced for significant redundancies at the 6,500-staff manufacturer.