Bernie Ecclestone to bid for Saab

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone will make a bid for Saab, the Swedish car maker being offloaded by General Motors.

Ecclestone confirmed his plans last night, as potential bidders finalised their offers before GM's board meets today to decide Saab's future.

F1 boss Ecclestone said: 'It's a good brand that has probably been neglected by the current owners. We don't own it yet, so let's see what happens.'

Private equity partner
Ecclestone's bid is made in partnership with Genii Capital, a private investment firm.

A statement from the company said that it 'will aggressively work towards a successful closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of Saab.'

The group also said that it believed Saab had 'tremendous brand value' as well as an innovative image, and hoped that it would pioneer developments in energy efficiency and in-car communications platforms.

Genii Capital last month agreed to buy a majority stake in Renault's Formula One team.

Other bidders for Saab
Spyker said last night it had made a revised offer for Saab. Spyker Cars boss Victor Muller said: 'We believe the Saab brand has lots of potential and would be keen to close a deal as quickly as possible.'