WASHINGTON — In a potential breakthrough that could allow General Motors to avert bankruptcy or to emerge from it quickly, bondholders who hold a large percentage of the carmaker's $27 billion in debt tentatively accepted a new offer this morning to restructure the troubled company.

GM officials confirmed in a regulatory filing that a large group of bondholders has accepted a deal sweeter than the one it rejected Tuesday.

In a statement, GM said, "Implementation of this proposal would result in a new GM with a healthy balance sheet, putting the new company on a clear path toward long-term viability and success."

The new deal would give bondholders a 10 percent stake in the company in exchange for converting the bonds they hold into new shares of a restructured GM. They'd have an opportunity to take an additional 15 percent ownership stake if certain market conditions permit.

Earlier in the week, bondholders balked at a plan to give them 10 percent of the new GM, even after the Obama administration and the company agreed to scale back the United Auto Workers union's stake in a newly restructured company. Union workers originally were to get a 39 percent stake, and that was reduced to 17.5 percent.

GM's filing today confirmed that the U.S. Treasury initially would own 72 percent of the newly restructured company.

GM has received more than $20 billion in taxpayer bailout money as it tries to survive a crisis brought on by the deep U.S. economic recession.