Sweden to Saab: Tough Luck

After another failed sale, GM will begin 'orderly wind-down,' it says

(NEWSER) - GM has failed in a last-chance bid to sell its Saab unit and will now settle the Swedish automaker’s debts and “wind down production and the distribution channel in an orderly manner.” A deal with Dutch sports-car maker Spyker just fell through, a month after the sale to Koenigsegg also went belly up. Issues that came up in due dilligence could not be resolved, a GM exec tells the Wall Street Journal of the Spyker sale. “The due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time. In order to maintain operations, Saab needed a quick resolution.” More»

GM's failed bid to unload Swedish automaker may spell its doom

(NEWSER) - GM’s bid to sell its Saab unit to a small Swedish automaker has fallen through after Koenigsegg pulled out yesterday, citing costly delays in the closing process. Saab’s managing director tells the Wall Street Journal it’s “premature” to write the employer of 4,000 off, but one GM exec isn’t so optimistic. “Saab has been identified as a brand GM would divest itself of, one way or another,” he says, and the next likely step is to shutter it. More»

(NEWSER) - Saab applied for protection from creditors today, after parent company General Motors said this week it planned to cut the company loose, Bloomberg reports. In a process much like Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Swedish automaker will restructure and look for funding with the goal of spinning off from GM or being sold; GM said several days ago it would dump Saab, after 2 decades of losses, unless the Swedish government offered a bailout. More»

GM vetoes deal involving Chinese company

(NEWSER) - Saab finally threw in the towel today, after former owner General Motors once again vetoed a rescue plan involving China’s Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile. Saab’s current owner, Swedish Automobile, filed for its bankruptcy, saying that "the company, without further funding, will be insolvent, and that filing bankruptcy is in the best interests of its creditors." Saab hasn’t made any cars since April, thanks to growing debts, Reuters reports. More»

Dutch luxury car maker Spyker snaps up dying brand

(NEWSER) - GM has reached a deal to sell its otherwise doomed Saab brand to Dutch luxury car maker Spyker Cars NV for $74 million in cash and $326 million in preferred stock. The deal is dependent on Sweden agreeing to guarantee a $563 million European Investment Bank loan to the Swedish Saab brand. The sale is expected to close in February, Bloomberg reports. More»