Saab to become Swedish again

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} General Motors has reached a provisional agreement to sell its Swedish subsidiary Saab to the Swedish sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg.   Part of the deal involves ┬ú367 million of funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB), guaranteed by the Swedish government.   The move is the latest part of GM's reorganisation, which has already seen GermanyÔÇÖs Opel and the UKÔÇÖs Vauxhall brands lined up for acquisition by Canadian parts manufacturer Magna.   Saab employs about 3,400 people in Sweden and about 12,000 other jobs in the country are dependent on Saab and its suppliers. It filed for reorganisation under Swedish law on 20 February this year.   Koenigsegg produces only 18 cars a year and employs 45 people, so there has been some doubt as to whether it has the expertise to run Saab, which sold 93,000 cars in 2008.   But GM Europe's president Carl-Peter Forster was upbeat about the proposition: "Koenigsegg Group's unique combination of innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and financial strength... made it the right choice for Saab as well as for General Motors."   GMÔÇÖs statement did not mention the price being paid for Saab, but the sale is expected to be completed by the end of September.   GM said it would continue to provide technology to Saab "during a defined time period".   GM currently has bankruptcy protection in the US and is slimming down its range of brands as it tries to regain profitability.   The Swedish government has been keen to avoid bailing out its carmakers as long as they are owned by US parent companies.   Joran Hagglund, state secretary for Sweden's industry ministry, said the financing had not yet been finalised. "We do not yet know if Koenigsegg Group will need loan guarantees or not," he said.   GM first bought 50 percent of Saab in 1989 and the remainder in 2000.   Koenigsegg was founded 16 years ago by Christian Koenigsegg, and its principal backer is the Norwegian industrial designer Baard Eker. Its cars sell for about ┬ú900,000 each.     *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *