GM mulling Saab options, Spyker renews bid

General Motors said it had received several inquiries over Sweden's Saab and it would evaluate each inquiry as Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars said it had submitted a new offer for the brand.

Spyker Cars' renewed approach to fasttrack a buyout of Saab before the end of the year comes just two days after last-ditch talks between GM and Spyker Cars to rescue the money-losing Swedish manufacturer had collapsed.

On its website, GM said that since Friday's announcement that it would start the orderly wind down of Saab, GM had received inquiries from several parties.

"We will evaluate each inquiry. We will not comment further until these evaluations have been completed," GM said in a statement.

GM's move to abandon the 60-year-old Swedish auto brand would eliminate 3,400 jobs in Sweden and drop 1,100 Saab dealers.

But Spyker said on Sunday it has submitted a renewed offer including an 11-point proposal addressing each of the issues that arose during the due diligence process.

"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," Spyker Cars Chief Executive Victor Muller said in a statement.

OFFER DEADLINE

Spyker Cars said the new offer eliminates the need for a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan approval prior to year end, which would allow the deal to be concluded within GM's deadline.

Muller added Spyker was confident the offer would remove the impasse and allow it to conclude the deal prior to the expiry of the deadline originally set by GM of December 31.

The renewed offer is valid until 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday December 21.

A Spyker Cars spokesman declined to comment on the financing of the deal or the due diligence issues that arose.

The primary backers of Spyker Cars -- which last year sold 43 cars at prices of at least 200,000 euros ($287,800) --include Russian banking tycoon Vladimir Antonov and his Convers Group, which has almost a 30 percent stake in the firm.

Jeroen Willard, an analyst at Dutch brokerage AEK, has said that for Spyker -- which has struggled for years -- to finance the deal it would likely issue shares to its Russian backers.

Spyker Cars said if a deal could be agreed, Saab would provide it a global distribution network, production facilities and solid engineering, sourcing and R&D, while Saab would receive financial backing to compete as a global brand.

- Reuters