(Wed 27 Jan 10)

For some time now, General Motors has been saying, almost if not quite in so many words, "Yes, we'll sell Saab if someone shows us the money." Well, Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker has, in effect, finally done that - or at least it has become the co-signatory, with GM, of "a binding agreement over the transfer of ownership".

The deal is that Spyker (which will probably be renamed Saab Spyker Automobiles) is buying all but a few shares, which are worth less than 1% of the voting rights, from GM for $74 million, of which $50 million is to be paid on February 15 and the remainder on July 15.

All this - and quite a number of other financial considerations, not all of which are being made public - has been made possible by the Swedish Government's agreement to guarantee a €400 million loan from the European Investment Bank. Spyker also has back-up financing in the form of a three-year €150 million credit line facility from GEM Global Yield Fund Limited.

"We are very much looking forward to being part of the next chapter in Saab's illustrious history," says Spyker CEO Victor Muller. "Saab is an iconic brand that we are honoured to shepherd. We are delighted to have secured the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of loyal Saab employees, suppliers and dealers and to have given reassurance to the 1.5 million Saab drivers and enthusiasts around the world.

"It was breathtaking to see so much support from the global Saab community over the last months which not only shows the strength of the brand but also helped us in our relentless determination to get the deal done."

As some analysts have already pointed out, however, the takeover itself is the easy bit. Saab has not made a profit for several years and it will be difficult to turn that situation around, though the fact that various new models are coming close to being production-ready should certainly help.

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