General Motors has agreed to sell Saab to Spyker for $74m.

The sale secures the future of over 5,400 Saab factory workers in Sweden and the jobs of employees at Saab Great Britain Limited.

As part of the transaction, Spyker intends to negotiate the acquisition of all the outstanding shares in Saab Great Britain Limited, the UK distribution, marketing and sales company for Saab from General Motors UK Limited.

An announcement last night (Jan 27) confirmed that GM and Spyker Cars have reached a binding agreement over the transfer of ownership
of Saab.

The deal is expected to be completed by February 15, and will mean that Saab will now exit the wind-down process is began earlier this month.

Spyker will change its name to Saab Spyker Automobiles at its next general meeting.

The agreement is subject to the completion of a EUR 400 million loan agreement between Saab and the European Investment Bank (EIB), which is guaranteed by the Swedish Government.

The Swedish government has confirmed its approval of this guarantee.

The guarantee is subject to approval by the European Commission, which is expected shortly.

GM will retain some 'preference shares' to the value of $326million, which represent less than 1% of the voting rights in the capital of
Saab.

In a statement Spyker said it has bought the entire Saab operation as a going concern and moved to quickly quash rumours that the parts of Saab that had already been sold to BAIC, a Chinese carmaker, will affect its future operations.

"In spite of media reports that certain parts have already been sold off, the object is Saab as a
complete entity and going concern with all IP rights, trademarks, facilities and other
infrastructures," said a joint Spyker/GM statement.

"The sale of pre 2003 Saab 9-3 and current Saab 9-5 technology to BAIC in December 2009 did not result in any part of Saab’s business being divested or devalued. On the contrary, Saab has already started the production of the new generation Saab 9-5 in Trollhättan."

Victor Muller, Spyker's CEO, added: "We are very much looking forward to being part of the next
chapter in Saab's illustrious history.

"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.”

Jan Åke Jonsson, CEO of Saab Automobile AB said: “It has been a challenging 15 months for Saab but our global organisation has shown a fighting spirit that will serve us well going forward.

The agreement with Spyker Cars has secured Saab’s future and will enable us to maximize the brand’s potential through an exciting new product line-up with a distinctly Saab character.

“Today’s news is great for Saab’s customers, dealers, suppliers and employees around the globe.

"The level of passion and support shown to Saab over recent months has been remarkable and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those people who continued to believe that Saab deserved a future.

"Now we aim to get back to the execution of our business plan and with the continued support
of our employees and business partners I am confident we will succeed.”