Luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg is close to securing the financing needed to carry out its purchase of Saab Automobile from General Motors, a Swedish business daily reported on Tuesday.

An agreement between GM and Koeningsegg, backed by additional investors, was likely to be presented next week, newspaper Dagens Industri reported, citing an unidentified source familiar with the matter.

Koenigsegg no longer needs any extra loan from the Swedish state but can handle the financing with the help of GM and new investors, the source was quoted as saying. The new investors were not identified by the newspaper.

GM signed a deal last month to sell its Saab car business to Koenigsegg, but questions remained regarding the financing of the deal.

The Swedish government is still negotiating with Koenigsegg on a possible guarantee for a loan to Saab from the European Investment Bank, a precondition for the deal.

In connection with the announcement of the deal last month, Koenigsegg Chairman Augie Fabela was quoted as saying that the group also needed an additional 3 billion Swedish crowns ($423.6 million) of financing in addition to the EIB loan.

Koenigsegg told Reuters on Aug.18 the firm expected to close the deal within about a month. GM said it saw the deal closing by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Stockholm Newsroom; Editing by Gary Hill)

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