STOCKHOLM (AP) -- The European Investment Bank approved a euro400 million ($542.88 million) loan Friday to car maker Saab Automobile AB, clearing the way for Spyker Cars of the Netherlands to buy the brand from General Motors Co.
The Swedish government offered to guarantee the loan on the condition that Saab uses it to develop environmentally friendly cars. The guarantee was approved by the European Commission earlier this week.
General Motors agreed last month to sell Saab to Spyker for $74 million in cash while retaining preferred Saab shares worth $326 million. The deal ensured the survival of the 72-year-old Swedish brand, which for now has avoided the fate of other doomed General Motor's brands Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer.