Spyker, the Only Bidder Still in the Race for Saab

Although Saab a few days ago announced the sale of several assets to China's BAIC, Spyker is still negotiating the acquisition of the Swedish unit, GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre said in a statement. Curiously, Spyker said earlier this month that it could walk away from the deal in case General Motors decides to sell some production lines to other parties, as it only intends to take control of the whole company.

Whitacre said that a potential agreement before the end of the month is still a likely scenario but admitted that there are still a number of issues to be resolved.

Koenigsegg Group, who was initially seen as favorite to take over GM's Swedish unit, decided to stop negotiations earlier this month, leaving the US-based manufacturer with only two options: either to find a new buyer for Saab or scrap the brand entirely. The parent company established an end-December deadline to make a decision.

On the other hand, the awkward way General Motors dropped from 27 investors, initially rumored to be interested in buying Saab, to only one, namely Spyker.

"We can confirm that we have heard from different investors. We have a close dialog and close contact with several who have expressed interest in buying Saab Automobile," Gunilla Gustavs, Saab spokeswoman said according to Autonews. "It is not so surprising, given that there were 27 parties who were interested (when Saab was initially put up for sale) and 10 who came and looked the company over in April and May."