Saab's sale to Koenigsegg collapses
* Supercar firm pulls out * Funding was said to be secured * Follows GM's pull-out of Opel/Vauxhall deal...
General Motors today confirmed that the proposed sale of Saab to Koenigsegg has been cancelled after the Swedish supercar manufacturer pulled out of the deal.
'We're obviously very disappointed with Koenigsegg's decision to pull out of the Saab purchase', said GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson. 'Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next few days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week.'
Funding was said to be in place
Earlier this year, it was reported that GM wanted to complete the sale by the end of 2009, and that the Swedish government had agreed to underwrite a loan from the European Investment Bank.
Koenigsegg was also working with China's Beijing Automotive to help secure the deal.
However, neither Saab nor Koenigsegg could give any details of why the deal had collapsed.
The news comes soon after GM confirmed that it would not be going ahead with a proposed deal to sell its Opel and Vauxhall subsidiaries to Canadian group Magna.
