Saab Sale Unlikely, GM Boss Says

WITH THE FINAL DEADLINE for intending buyers to submit a bid for Saab mere hours away, GM CEO Ed Whitacre has said today that a sale seems unlikely.

Speaking with Reuters, Whitacre said that none of the brand's potential buyers have yet come up with the figures to secure a deal, despite lead bidder Spyker's final submission expected tomorrow.

“It's real easy,” Mr Whitacre told Reuters. “Just show up with the money and you can have it, and nobody's showing up with the money.”

Mr Whitacre said GM had done everything possible to help the sale.

Earlier this week, Spyker CEO Victor Muller was confident in an interview with AOL that his company's final submission would meet all of GM's requirements.

“We are very confident that our renewed offer will remove the impasse that was standing in the way of an agreement on Friday, and this would still allow us to conclude the deal prior to the expiry of the deadline originally set by GM of December 31st,” Mr Muller said in a statement.

Paul Akerlund, a union representative at Saab, told industry paper Automotive News this week that while GM had extended its deadline, the process of winding down Saab’s operations will continue for now.

With final bids due Thursday (US time - our time tomorrow), news of Saab's reprieve or demise is not far away.