What company is Koenigsegg Cars buying the Saab from?”
General Motors Europe said on Tuesday a preliminary agreement has been reached to sell the company’s money-losing Swedish unit Saab to local sportscar maker Koenigsegg. Koenigsegg, a small firm with just 45 staff that makes only a handful of high performance cars a year, came out of nowhere to emerge as a front-runner to buy Saab. The deal would see Saab, which was put up for sale earlier this year, emerge from two decades under the umbrella of its U.S. parent which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. Sale terms were not disclosed but the agreement includes expected financing to be guaranteed by Sweden. “The sale, expected to close by the end of the third quarter of this year, includes an expected $600 million funding commitment from the European Investment Bank (EIB) guaranteed by the Swedish government,” GM Europe said in a statement on its website. But the Swedish government, which has been wary of making a commitment on loan guarantees, said the issue of financing support was
Saab Automobile AB has another shot at survival after a consortium led by Swedish boutique sports-car maker Koenigsegg Group AB agreed to a preliminary deal to buy the troubled company from General Motors Corp. (GMGMQ) The deal is a major step toward resolving unknowns facing GM as it navigates through bankruptcy court. Saab’s long-term future, however, remains uncertain. If the deal goes through, Koenigsegg, founded in 1994 by a 22-year-old entrepreneur to make cars for the super-rich, faces the difficult task of reversing years of mounting losses and sales declines at Saab. Saab, part of GM since 2000, was put up for sale earlier this year as part of the auto maker’s efforts to return to profitability. Steady sales declines at Saab accelerated dramatically in recent months, with the brand’s future in question. Just 783 Saab models were sold in the U.S. during May, a fall of 64% and less than the Hummer truck brand being offloaded to Chinese investors. May sales in Europe slumped 66%
