GM could sell Saab to Spyker this week

According to press reports General Motors could be signing a deal to sell Saab to Dutch luxury sports car maker Spyker Cars early this week.

Bloomberg News revealed Spyker has offered GM a combination of cash and preferred shares in a new Saab worth $500 million and that GM is satisfied with the offer in principle. According to Bloomberg, Spyker has offered GM about $75 million in cash and $325 million in preferred shares in the company that would emerge from the transaction. GM would get $100 million of Saab’s existing liquidity.

Saab enthusiasts’ Web site SaabsUnited said a Spyker car had been delivered to Saab’s museum in Trollhattan, Sweden, possibly in preparation for GM and Spyker announcing a deal against a backdrop of historic Saab cars and a luxury Spyker model.

The Financial Times said an announcement is tentatively scheduled for Monday. Bloomberg and Sweden’s Dagens Industri said that, while the Spyker-Saab deal could still collapse, the sale may be finalized by early this week.

Meanwhile Lars Carlstrom, a spokesman for Genii Capital, the Luxembourg based Investment Company backed by Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and a rival bidder for Saab, said on Saturday that Spyker is “well-positioned” to buy Saab.

Carlstrom said that Spyker is further along in talks with GM than his own group as the Dutch firm had a head-start of at least four weeks in completing due diligence work toward a deal.

“We believe that Spyker is well-positioned in this deal, and I would expect an outcome early next week,” said Carlstrom.

Should the deal with Spyker fall through, Genii and its partners remained at the ready to pursue talks with GM, Carlstrom said. “We are here and we have the resources.”

GM made progress toward a deal to sell Saab to Spyker after a meeting in Stockholm on Friday, a Spyker executive and a second person with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters over the weekend.

Source: Automotive News