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Wed 01 Jan 2010Saab saved after GM agrees to sell to Dutch firm
GENERAL MOTORS has agreed to sell its Saab unit to Dutch specialist sportscar maker Spyker Cars in a deal that will save the 72-year-old Swedish brand. Spyker has agreed to pay $74 million (€52.5 million) in cash and $326 million in preferred shares in the company that would emerge from the deal, according to the Dutch company in a statement to the Amsterdam stock exchange.
The transaction, subject to Sweden agreeing to guarantee a €400 million European Investment Bank loan for Saab, is expected to be sealed in February. If it gets the support of the Swedish government the sale may save many of the 3,500 jobs at Saab's main factory in Trollhaettan in southwestern Sweden.
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