GENERAL MOTORS

General Motors Co is close to announcing a deal to sell its Swedish unit Saab to Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars NV, Bloomberg news service reported Tuesday, citing someone it said was familiar with negotiations.

Tiny Dutch sportscar maker Spyker clinched a last-minute deal on Tuesday to buy Sweden's Saab, in an audacious attempt to turn around a money-losing brand that only days ago was headed for oblivion.

Investment company Genii Capital has withdrawn from the bidding for General Motors' unit Saab, leaving Spyker Cars as the sole remaining bidder to rescue the ailing Swedish auto brand.

General Motors Co Chairman Ed Whitacre said on Monday he would stay on as chief executive indefinitely, ending an eight-week search for his successor in a move intended to bring stability to the automaker's turnaround plans.

General Motors Co has held advanced talks with Spyker Cars for the sale of its Swedish brand Saab but is proceeding with plans to wind down the unit, GM Chief Executive Ed Whitacre said on Monday.

Hopes tiny Dutch car maker Spyker can yet rescue Sweden's failing Saab automobile brand and the 3,400 jobs that depend on it flickered back into life on Monday.

General Motors Co Chairman and acting Chief Executive Ed Whitacre will take the CEO role on a permanent basis, CNBC reported on Monday.

Spyker Cars said on Tuesday its talks with General Motors over buying its ailing Swedish carmaking unit Saab must end soon, as swirling speculation about a last-ditch deal sent its shares to 12-month highs.

General Motors Co acting Chief Executive Ed Whitacre will take that role on a permanent basis, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.

General Motors expects it will need to build a new greenfield manufacturing facility in the near future in China to accommodate strong growth in the world's largest auto market, but it will not be building a plant this year, its China president said on Saturday.

Spyker Cars NV is well-positioned to purchase ailing Swedish carmaker Saab after negotiations with owner General Motors in Stockholm, a spokesman for rival bidder Genii Capital said on Saturday.

General Motors Co and Volkswagen are best positioned in the largest and fastest-growing emerging markets at a time when auto sales in those countries could grow over 40 percent by 2014, a study released on Thursday said.

Dutch luxury car maker Spyker Cars said on Thursday it is nearing an outcome in its talks to buy Saab from General Motors, although it gave no indication as to how the talks were going.

Belgian Opel workers learned the Antwerp plant will close this year, with the loss of 2,600 jobs, as U.S. car maker General Motors said it would make labor and capacity cuts at all its European sites.

U.S. carmaker General Motors will close its Opel plant in the Belgian port city of Antwerp, sources said on Wednesday, slamming the door on hopes to save the jobs of the site's 2,300 staff.

Japan has changed its auto replacement incentive program to give U.S. cars more chance to qualify after the United States complained its automakers were shut out, the Japanese government said on Tuesday.

U.S. carmaker General Motors GM.UL will close its Opel plant in the Belgian port city of Antwerp, sources said on Wednesday, slamming the door on hopes to save the jobs of the site's 2,300 staff.

Investment firm Genii Capital said liquidators had yet to start removing vital assets from Swedish carmaker Saab's facilities, and said it remained upbeat about its chances of buying the loss-making firm from General Motors.

Dutch luxury car maker Spyker Cars said on Monday it was still in talks to buy Swedish auto brand Saab from General Motors, but gave no indication of when a deal might be clinched.

Opel management called on staff to abandon any false illusions that parent General Motors was the root cause of the ailing European carmaker's problems and accept its own shortcomings.

Dutch sports car maker Spyker denied on Sunday it had plans to jointly bid for General Motors' Saab with Luxembourg investment firm Genii Capital.