Saab Dodges Axe Once Again

Swedish Automobile, parent company of Saab, has announced an agreement to sell the brand to China's Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman companies.

The news comes after months of financial troubles threatened to see the carmaker shuttered, and less than two years after Spyker founder Victor Muller negotiated to buy the brand from General Motors.

It won't be plain sailing, however: while a memorandum of understanding has been signed, the deal must first be approved by the European Investment Bank, which has loaned money to Saab, and by GM, which retained preferential shares in Saab when it sold the brand.

"It is way too early to make a statement about whether this is going to be easy or not," Muller told industry paper Automotive News Europe this week.

If the deal is approved, Saab fans can likely remain positive. In a statement this week, Swedish Automobile said an important part of the deal is "the commitment of Pang Da and Youngman to provide long-term funding" for the carmaker.

Speaking with Sweden's Sverige Radio, Muller added that the Chinese companies have agreed to invest 500 million euros in Saab.

The companies have until November 15 to get the deal locked in.