Shanghai, November 11 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. Ltd. (BAIC) and its Swedish partner aim to finalize the purchase of GM's Saab unit by the end of the year, Reuters reported yesterday, citing an executive of the Chinese carmaker.
In September Beijing Auto said it would take a minority stake in Sweden's Koenigsegg Group AB, which plans to buy Saab from General Motors. The stake would fill some of the funding gap for Koenigsegg's purchase of Saab.
The Saab deal was due to be completed the end of October but the Saab sale process was hampered when the Swedish government said last month it would have to wait for a decision on guaranteeing a 400 million euro ($600 million) loan granted earlier to Saab.
Work on concluding the Saab deal was proceeding steadily and "in an orderly manner," Wang Dazong, Beijing Auto's general manager, told reporters yesterday. "Mergers and acquisitions are a vital tool, which we are working on both domestically and overseas," he said.
Beijing Auto is set to produce the outgoing Saab 9-5 model after the fully-redesigned, all-new model is launched in April next year. The last generation Saab 9-5 might be made under the Chinese automaker's Beijing brand, or it could start a major expansion of Saab China.
Besides establishing ties with Saab, Beijing Auto will also expand its existing operations, including joint ventures with Hyundai Motor and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, to sell 2 million vehicles annually within a few years, from this year's expected 1 million.
