Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg calls off Saab acquisition

Sweden's high-performance sports car maker Koenigsegg Group called off its planned acquisition of Saab Automobile from General Motors, leaving the Detroit-based car maker with Saturn, Opel and Saab brands back in its stable after putting them on sale this year.

"We're obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase," said GM president and CEO, Fritz Henderson.

"Many have worked tirelessly over the past several months to create a sustainable plan for the future of Saab by selling the brand and its manufacturing interests to Koenigsegg Group AB. Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week," he added.

Angelholm-based Koenigsegg Group AB is a consortium of private investors including Koenigsegg Automotive AB which manufactures $1.2 million super sports cars.

In June, Sweden's Koenigsegg Group AB agreed to a preliminary deal to buy Saab, the troubled GM unit which filed for bankruptcy protection in February under the Swedish law.

GM had said that the sale would include an expected $600 million funding commitment from the European Investment Bank (EIB), guaranteed by the Swedish government. (See: General Motors to sell Saab to Sweden's Koenigsegg)