Saab's Dutch owner and China's Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile have agreed that the Bank of China, the nation's fourth-largest bank by market value, will come in as part owner of the ailing carmaker, according to a source familiar with the deal. Under the new deal, the Bank of China will replace Chinese investor Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. Youngman and the Bank of China will own just under 50 percent of the company.
The move could help pave the way for an approval by General Motors, which still has preferential shares in Saab and rejected an earlier rescue plan. It said in November it would stop supplying components and technology if Youngman and Pang Da succeeded with their acquisition bid.
Saab has lurched from crisis to crisis in the past year. The company has not produced a car in months because of unpaid salaries and bills.