GM Gets Inquiries About Saab Amid Plans to Shut Unit

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that prevented it from implementing a new business plan. Saab was to become profitable by 2012 with annual sales of at least 100,000 cars, according to the September plan.

The European Investment Bank in August delayed a decision on whether to lend Saab 400 million euros to be used for the development of new technology, which it eventually granted Saab on Oct. 21. While the EIB approved the loan to Saab, the bank must re-evaluate the financing with any interested buyer as the new owner before it can be paid out.

The transaction with Spyker had to be concluded this month, GM said before the deal failed. Muller said today that Spyker's revised bid still calls for the loan, although an approval from the EIB is no longer necessary by Dec. 31.

'Every Effort'

"We have made every effort to resolve the issues that were preventing the conclusion of this matter and we have asked GM and all other involved parties to seriously consider this offer," Muller said. "We are very confident that our renewed offer will remove the impasse that was standing in the way of an agreement, and this would still allow us to conclude the deal prior to the expiry of the deadline originally set by GM."

Spyker reported a net loss of 25 million euros last year, and Muller said Nov. 20 that the Zeewolde, Netherlands-based automaker won't be profitable this year. Lack of cash led it to obtain loans in 2007 from Vilnius, Lithuania-based AB Bankas Snoras in return for a stake of almost 30 percent.

Sweden's IF Metall union said GM must now "seriously evaluate" the new bid from Spyker.

"I understand the frustration that all people who are dependent on Saab feel—to be thrown between hope and despair is terrible," IF Metall head Stefan Loefven said. "GM must now quickly answer with a serious test of the new bid."

To contact the reporters on this story: Niklas Magnusson in Stockholm at nmagnusson1@bloomberg.net; David Welch in Southfield, Michigan, at david_welch@businessweek.com; Ola Kinnander in Stockholm at okinnander@bloomberg.net.

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