Swedish luxury carmaker Koenigsegg is giving up its bid to acquire Saab Automobile from General Motors.
‘We regret that after six months of intense and goal-oriented work we have come to the painful and difficult conclusion that we are not going to be able to carry out the acquisition of Saab Automobile,’ Christian von Koenigsegg said in a statement.
General Motors said it was ‘disappointed’ that Koenigsegg terminated the deal.
General Motors has not been in active discussions with any other bidders for Saab and the decision by Koenigsegg to end the deal means that a wind-down of the Swedish brand is now likely.
Koenigsegg announced in September that it had teamed up with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co Ltd (BAIC) to buy Saab from GM.
But it still needed a €400m loan from the European Investment Bank and wanted the Swedish government to act as a guarantor.
Swedish media have recently suggested that Saab was short of money to continue its day-to-day operations, and doubts have flourished among experts and commentators about whether Koenigsegg would have the necessary expertise to run a major car company.
Koenigsegg Group, founded in 1994, has just 45 employees and produces 18 high-end sports cars a year at more than €1m each.
The Swedish government had as of today still not decided whether to act as guarantor.
