Swedish carmaker Saab's future in doubt as bidder pulls out

Nov 25, 2009, 10:28 GMT

Stockholm - Management and unions at Swedish carmaker Saab expressed disappointment on Wednesday that a potential buyer had pulled out of talks with Saab's US owner, General Motors (GM).

The future of the carmaker was cast in doubt when a consortium structured around the Koenigsegg Group, a low-volume Swedish sports car maker, announced its withdrawal late Tuesday.

GM has not been in talks with other potential buyers for months and earlier this year said it planned to shed the Swedish subsidiary, as part of a sell off which was originally to include German subsidiary Opel.

'We have negotiated (with Koenigsegg) until the last moment,' Jan Ake Jonsson, Saab chief executive, told broadcaster TV4, saying he was disappointed that the six months of talks had been inconclusive.

At stake are some 3,500 jobs at Saab and an additional 3,000 jobs with subcontractors, according to the Automotive Supplier Industry.

Christian von Koenigsegg, chief executive of Koenigsegg, Wednesday visited Saab's main plant in Trollhattan, south-western Sweden and repeated that the consortium decided to pull out when it realized it would not achieve a November 30 deadline.

The consortium in September announced plans to include Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings (BAIC) as a minority owner.

The Chinese group Wednesday issued a statement saying it would 'carefully evaluate this project anew.'

Swedish analysts said Saab faced closure unless another buyer emerged soon. In addition to BAIC, another contender is Chinese carmaker Geely, which is also in talks to take over Volvo, the Swedish subsidiary of Ford Motor Co.

Saab blue-collar union leader Paul Akerlund said he hoped 'all parties' would pull together.

Joran Hagglund, state secretary at the enterprise ministry, said the the government was in contact with GM, but he ruled out a state takeover the loss-making carmaker.

'The problem is that the longer it takes to get things in place, the later you can start making new (car) models and earn money,' he said.

GM said it was to consider its moves following a board meeting scheduled for next week.

GM's interest in Saab - one of Europe's smallest carmakers - dates back to the early 1990s. The company took full control in 2000.