Spyker Cars renews bid to buy Saab from GM

THE HAGUE: Dutch sports carmaker Spyker said Sunday it has made a new bid for Sweden's Saab Automobile, two days after its American owners General Motors said it would close the loss-making unit.

"The Spyker leadership has submitted a renewed offer in the hopes of securing a future for Saab, its employees and the brand -- despite the announcement that the winding down of Saab would begin," the company said in a statement.

Spyker said it hoped "the renewed offer would remove each of the obstacles that were standing in the way of a swift transaction."

"We have made every effort to resolve the issues that were preventing the conclusion of this matter and we have asked GM and all other involved parties to seriously consider this offer," said Spyker chief executive Victor Muller.

Muller said he was confident a deal could be done by the December 31 deadline set by GM to complete the sale. Spyker's new offer remains valid until 17:00 Eastern Time on Monday (2200 GMT, 23:00 CET), the company said in the statement.

General Motors said Friday that it would close Saab, based in western Sweden, after it failed to agree upon a sale with the Dutch carmaker.



It has been trying to sell the unit since the start of the year. Swedish luxury carmaker Koenigsegg, a company which builds around 18 cars a year, pulled out of a deal to buy Saab last month, citing costly delays.

Like Koenigsegg, Spyker is also a niche premium car manufacturer.

In 2008, it sold just 37 cars worldwide with prices starting at 200,000 euros (290,000 dollars).

Saab sold just over 93,000 cars worldwide last year.

The company employs about 3,400 people in Sweden. According to media reports, Saab's closure could lead to more than 8,000 job losses, including subcontractors and others dependent on the carmaker.

Saab's history as an automaker dates back to the 1940s, when the first cars were produced by the Swedish aircraft maker Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget or SAAB. GM acquired Saab Automobile in 1990.