US carmaker General Motors is seeking a new owner for its loss-making Swedish brand Saab after a previous takeover bid failed last week, Saab Automobile's chief executive said today.
'I, the Swedish government and GM are all working very hard to find an alternative,' Saab CEO Jan-Aake Jonsson said after a meeting between the three parties in Detroit yesterday.
GM is due to hold a board meeting today to discuss its plans for Saab after Swedish niche sportscar maker Koenigsegg withdrew its bid for the iconic brand on November 24. If no other suitor turns up, GM could either choose to hold on to Saab or shut it down.
The European Investment Bank has granted Saab a €400m loan, but the Swedish state must guarantee the loan and the European Commission must still approve it.
A government spokesman repeated, however, that the Swedish state would not take a stake in Saab.
Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet today identified three of the interested parties as US investment firm Merbanco, China's Beijing Automotive (BAIC) - which had linked up with Koenigsegg to take over Saab and which has said it is 'reassesssing' its options - and US holding company Renco Group.
The newspaper also said there was a fourth, unnamed group.
