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General Motors said Friday it would shut down its Swedish auto brand Saab after talks failed to produce a buyer for the money-losing unit.
GM said it failed to reach an agreement with Dutch sports car maker Spyker on a sale of the division. This followed the withdrawal of a bid last month from Swedish sportscar maker Koenigsegg Group AB.
The Detroit automaker said in a statement that it had been in talks with Spyker but that "during the due diligence, certain issues arose that both parties believe could not be resolved."
"Despite the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time," GM Europe president Nick Reilly said.
Reilly said that Saab "needed a quick resolution" to continue operations.
He added that GM "will work closely with the Saab organization to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner. This is not a bankruptcy or forced liquidation process."
GM said the move to end Saab operations was among "some very difficult but necessary business decisions" as the US auto giant tries to restore profitability after a massive bankruptcy restructuring aided by the US and Canadian governments.
The company is also winding down its Saturn and Pontiac brands in the United States and has reached a deal to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese buyer.
The focus on core brands "will enable the company to devote more engineering and marketing resources to each brand and model," GM said.
Swedish Enterprise Minister Maud Olofsson described the shutdown as "sad news" and lashed out at the US auto giant for not having done enough for the iconic mark.
"GM owns Saab and GM could have done much more for Saab over the years," Olofsson told a press conference in Saab's hometown of Trollhaettan in southwest Sweden.
"It is very dismal. Very sad news for all of the employees and it comes at the worst possible time," the minister was quoted as saying by Swedish news agency TT.
But she reiterated the government's position that the Swedish state would not step in to become Saab's owner, saying it has no place owning car companies.
GM accepted responsibility for Saab's failure and said it had tried "very hard" to find a solution.
"There's been no shortage of effort over the past 20 years to put Saab on long-term sustainable footing," John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances, said in a conference call with reporters.
"We do accept that responsibility," Smith added. "We've tried. We've tried hard. And we've tried very hard this year to see if someone might do better."
Smith declined to comment on why the deal with Spyker fell through.
GM said there would be no change in a plan announced earlier this week to sell some Saab assets to China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co.
State-owned BAIC will acquire the technology for Saab's 9-3 and 9-5 car models, turbine engines and gearboxes, allowing the Chinese firm to develop its own-brand cars using the Swedish carmaker's technology.
GM said that in the wind-down of Saab, it would satisfy debts including supplier payments and would continue to honor warranties and provide parts to Saab owners around the world.
Saab employs some 3,400 people in Sweden and sold just over 93,000 cars worldwide in 2008.
Up to an estimated 15,000 jobs could disappear in a Saab shutdown, including those of suppliers and subcontractors. If they too shut down that could pose a problem for Sweden's other carmaker Volvo, owned by US-based Ford Motor Co.
Under GM's stewardship spanning almost two decades, Saab rarely posted a profit and last year lost 3.0 billion kronor, the equivalent of 241 million euros, or 341 million dollars at the time.
Last month, GM reversed plans to sell its European Opel/Vauxhall division and to restructure those operations on its own. Analysts noted that Opel, unlike Saab, is integrated into GM's global operations.
Saab's history as an automaker dates back to the 1940s, when the first cars were produced by the Swedish aircraft maker Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, or SAAB. GM acquired Saab Automobile in 1990.
