US car maker General Motors has signed a tentative agreement to sell its beleaguered unit Saab Automobile to Swedish luxury sports car maker Koenigsegg, GM said in a statement today.
GM, now in bankruptcy protection in the US, put Saab up for sale in February as it bids to slim down its range of brands and become profitable again. The Swedish company has been undergoing a legal reorganisation process since February 20.
Koenigsegg, founded in 1994 by Swedish businessman Christian von Koenigsegg, has just 45 employees and produces 18 high-end sports cars a year for more than €1m each.
'Closing this deal represents the best chance for Saab to emerge a stronger company,' GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster said.
The sale, which is expected to close by the end of the third quarter, includes an expected $600m funding commitment from the European Investment Bank, guaranteed by the Swedish government.
The Saab car maker sold 93,000 cars worldwide in 2008, according to its website. It owes 9.7 billion kronor (€924m) to GM - its largest individual creditor - as well as 347 million kronor to the Swedish government. Other creditors are owed 647 million kronor.
Saab Automobile employs about 3,400 people in Sweden, and some 12,000 other jobs in the country are dependent on Saab through suppliers.
