General Motors Co. doesn't expect to find new bidders for Saab and may shut the bankrupt unit after Koenigsegg Group AB canceled a planned acquisition, people familiar with the matter said.
Saab's future will be decided at a Dec. 1 GM board meeting, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. While directors might opt to keep the Swedish division, as they did with the Opel unit this month, GM has a contingency plan that calls for winding down the brand, the people said.
"They should just get rid of it," said Tom Stallkamp, industrial partner at buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC, which was part of an unsuccessful bid for Opel in Germany. Saab "really doesn't matter in terms of technology, and there is no synergy like there was with Opel."
Closing Saab instead of selling would still help GM achieve the goal of trimming U.S. brands to four from eight while working to return to profit after a U.S.-backed bankruptcy. A Koenigsegg sale would have protected jobs at Saab while wrapping up GM's affiliation with the brand by year's end.
The collapse of that accord yesterday marked the third brand sale to falter since GM's July 10 exit from Chapter 11. GM backed out of the Opel sale to a group led by Magna International Inc., and Penske Automotive Group Inc. withdrew in September from a plan to buy Saturn.
Contingency Plan
Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., which in September agreed to buy a minority stake in the investment team set up by Koenigsegg to take over Saab, said in a statement said it will "cautiously" reconsider its plans for the acquisition.
GM's Saab contingency plan is modeled on its blueprint for Saturn, one of the people said. Saab owners would continue to be covered by GM warranties and be assigned to a new dealership for service, the person said.
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