Co-owner is confident that Koenigsegg can rescue Saab

Koenigsegg Automotive believes it can rescue General Motors' loss-making Saab unit, a co-owner of the Swedish luxury sports car maker said.

"We think it is possible (to rescue Saab) and we have several good solutions to bring into Saab," Baard Eker, who holds 49 percent of Koenigsegg, told the Dagbladet newspaper.

General Motors is close to selling Saab to Koenigsegg, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters last week. Saab sought protection from creditors in February and has been granted an extension of its business reorganization until Aug. 20 to line up a new owner and restructure.

"Let me make one thing clear -- we are not buying Saab only to chop it up," Eker said, referring to what he calls "poisonous comments" in Swedish media.

Eker, a Norwegian entrepreneur, said obstacles may still emerge which could potentially stop the sale, but he did not reply negatively when asked about Saab's comments that a deal could be in place next week, according to the paper.

Eker confirmed that several investors are willing to finance the acquisition, but declined to name them or how much money they would contribute.

When asked what was the most important thing that he and Christian von Koenigsegg, the sports car company's founder, could bring in as new owners, Eker said: "Culture and technology. Saab needs to be more innovative."

Eker also said it was not their intention to let "many people go," but declined to be more specific.

Koenigsegg's hand-built super cars are in Forbes magazine's list of the world's 10 most beautiful cars. The company has less than 50 employees and turns out only a handful of $1 million cars a year.

GM, which filed for Chapter 11 protection June 1, put Saab up for sale after deciding to cut its 20-year ties with the brand.

Saab produced nearly 100,000 cars last year, about 1 percent of GM's global output. GM has held talks with a number of potential buyers, including Fiat and Chinese automakers.

GM taps Swedish sports car maker as top Saab bidder, reports say

General Motors has chosen Swedish luxury sports car maker Koenigsegg Automotive AB as the preferred bidder for the Saab brand, news reports said. Koenigsegg and Norwegian investors have signed a letter of intent to take over Saab, Swedish television said today, attributing its report to unnamed sources. "The deal is there now and a few minor details remain," a source told Reuters. The reports follow earlier statements from Saab spokesman saying an announcement on the top finalist could come as soon as this week. GM, which filed for Chapter 11 protection June 1, put Saab into the equivalent of bankruptcy in February after deciding to cut its 20-year ties with the brand. The shedding of Saab underscores GM's intensified global effort to jettison non-performing brands and business lines. Over the last two weeks, the automaker has announced preliminary agreements to sell Hummer to a Chinese suitor and to sell Saturn to Roger Penske's Penske Automotive Group Inc. On Monday, GM said it would terminate its medium-duty truck business after trying to sell it for four years. A deal to sell the unit to Navistar Inc. fell apart. GM spokesman Chris Preuss declined to comment on the Saab bidding. Koenigsegg was one of three Saab finalists named in recent published reports. Bloomberg News, citing one person familiar with the talks, said Koenigsegg was picked because it's an automaker and because it is committed to investing in Saab.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Merbanco, a group of Wyoming investors, is interested in Saab, as is U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert's Renco Group. The FT said GM would provide $500 million in assets and cash, plus production equipment for a new Saab model as well as $150 million of cash already in Saab's account. Under the deal, the new owner is to pay GM back if it succeeds in turning around Saab, the report said. Cash amounts pledged by the three bidders vary, but it is smaller than the amount GM is contributing, the paper said.