General Motors Co has made progress toward a revived deal to sell its Swedish Saab brand to Spyker Cars NV after negotiations in Stockholm on Friday, a Spyker executive and a second person with direct knowledge of the talks said.
Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller told Reuters in a text message that he was "still confident" of reaching a deal to buy Saab and that he was in negotiations with GM representatives in Stockholm on Friday.
The second source said the latest round of talks had opened the possibility that Spyker could demonstrate that its offer for Saab would be better for GM than simply shutting down the brand, a process GM started earlier this month.
A resolution to the latest round of talks between GM and Spyker could come as early as Monday, said the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private.
GM had no immediate comment.
Terms of the proposed deal were not immediately known.
Bloomberg reported that Spyker had offered GM a combination of cash and preferred shares in a new Saab worth $500 million and said the two sides were in continued negotiations on other aspects of a deal including production plans.
GM nominated two wind-down supervisors for Saab last week, but said it was also considering bids for the company, keeping the future of the iconic Swedish carmaker uncertain.
A deal to sell Saab now would be the latest twist in a saga that began a year ago when GM first said it was looking to sell the money-losing brand.
