Saab, the Swedish car manufacturer owned by General Motors (GM), is understood to have sold two unused production lines to Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC), the Chinese carmaker, as the US company holds last-ditch talks to sell the business to one of two potential bidders.
The deal with BAIC involves Saab selling the production tools to make 9-5 and 9-3 models, which it no longer produces. BAIC, which lacks its own brand name, would manufacture similar cars in China, probably under a different name.
The two bidders interested in buying Saab are thought to be Spyker Cars, a Dutch speciality carmaker, which has Russian backing and has publicly declared its interest, and Renco Group, the vehicle of Ira Rennert, the US financier.
GM is thought to have ruled out selling BAIC the whole company, worried about transfer of technology. GM has also ruled out Merbanco, the US investment firm which had been interested, according to its president Christopher Johnston.
Koenigsegg, the Swedish sportscar maker, pulled out of a deal to buy Saab two weeks ago after six months of negotiations, but last week GM said that it had received new "expressions of interest" and that it would decide at the end of this month if a deal could be agreed.
If not, it would begin an "orderly wind down of the global Saab business". Saab employs more than 3,000 people in the UK at dealerships and its UK head office.
On Friday BAIC obtained a $2.93 billion line of credit from the Bank of China. Saab has been reorganising its businesses to meet conditions to receive a loan from the European Investment Bank.
These two facts, together with rumours of the sale of the two production lines, triggered false speculation today that the rump of the company was about to be liquidated.
