Saab: BAIC Taking a Sneak Peek?

BAIC is again making the headlines and once again, it is linked with an acquisition of a General Motors Europe unit. After failing to convince the German government to hand over Opel's majority stake, Beijing Auto is reportedly interested in Saab, the Swedish automaker which is now seeking an outside investor that could help it remain in business. Details are still sketchy so far but gasgoo.com wrote that BAIC might submit a takeover proposal soon.

Although we can't say for sure if such a thing is indeed true, it appears that Saab's so-long soap opera is finally coming to an end. At least, this is what sources familiar with the matter said, hinting that a final investor is to be announced sometime this week, maybe during the weekend.

Furthermore, some media reports even unveiled that the battle for Saab is now down to two parties, despite it was initially believed that there are more than three investors interested in taking over the Swedish unit. Additionally, Fiat, the Italian automaker who was also linked with an Opel acquisition but lost the battle in the favor of Magna International, was also said to target a Saab deal.

BAIC isn't the first Chinese company linked with a potential deal with Saab. Back in May, various rumors surrounding the negotiations pointed that Geely - mostly known outside China thanks to its "state-of-the-art" Phantom clone - is also targeting the controlling stake. However, Geely denied reports, saying that Saab and Volvo are not two of the assets it plans to purchase.

The company "has not submitted, and has no plans to submit, any bids concerning the takeovers of 'Volvo' or 'Saab' as stated in recent press articles," Geely said at that time.