Swedish government studies potential suitor for Saab

Dec 15, 2009, 13:31 GMT

Stockholm - The Swedish government has begun to study a potential suitor for Saab, the ailing subsidiary of US giant General Motors (GM), a government official said Tuesday.

GM selected the potential candidate now under review by the government, the National Debt Office and the European Investment Bank (EIB), State Secretary Joran Hagglund told Swedish radio news.

Hagglund declined to discuss the name of the new group.

The Swedish government wants to ensure that a potential buyer has sufficient financial and organizational strength for Stockholm to guarantee a 600-million-dollar loan from the EIB and not put taxpayers money at risk, he said.

'The timetable is extremely tight,' Hagglund said.

GM has said it wanted to shed the brand at the latest by the end of the year.

Saab's future was cast into doubt when a consortium structured around the Koenigsegg Group, a low-volume Swedish sports-car maker, surprisingly withdrew from talks with GM.

Swedish media reports suggest that the small sports-car group Spyker Cars of the Netherlands was a favourite.

Speculation has also centred on Chinese automotive group Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC), which on Monday signed a deal with Saab to buy technology and some equipment to make the 9-5 and 9- 3 models.

BAIC was earlier in talks with the Koenigsegg consortium.

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

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