"It was after intense negotiantios in Zurich, Switzerland it was finalized. Of the three companies that was in with the final discussions it was South-Swedish Koenigsegg an Nrweigan investors left. The Norweigans does have the financial muscle thart are required."
Koenigsegg leads the competition because of the investment it committed to restructure Saab and because it’s the only carmaker bidding, said the person, who declined to be identified because details are private. The other bidders include U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert’s Renco Group Inc. and Merbanco Inc., a group of investors from Wyoming.
GM and Sweden have been looking for a buyer for Saab since the Trollhaettan, Sweden-based carmaker filed for protection from creditors in February. Sweden said today it’s prepared to negotiate state guarantees for loans to Saab as a buyer emerges.
“We have always said that when there is a new owner of Saab, the debt office could be commissioned to negotiate about loan guarantees, if such are needed,” Swedish Industry Ministry State Secretary Joeran Haegglund said in a statement. “With today’s decision we are well prepared to do so.”
The Swedish company said on April 6 it aimed to secure about $1 billion in financing from the European Investment Bank and GM to help it reach positive cash flow by 2011.
Karin Kirchner, a spokeswoman for GM Europe in Zurich, declined to comment on the status of negotiations on Saab. Halldora Von Koenigsegg, wife of founder Christian Von Koenigsegg and a company spokeswoman, couldn’t immediately be reached.
Saab is seeking an agreement with creditors to pay back 25 percent of about 10 billion Swedish kronor ($1.3 billion) owed and will present the outcome of talks to a court June 17.
GM, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. on June 1, first invested in Saab in 1990. Saab lost about 3 billion kronor in 2008 and predicted a similar deficit this year, according to court documents.
To contact the reporter on this story: Serena Saitto in New York at ssaitto@bloomberg.net.
Swedish business magazine: Koenigsegg buys Saab
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