GM Closer to Handing Saab Off to Koenigsegg

General Motors Co. says it hopes to jettison its Saab Automobile AB unit in the next few months after signing a purchase agreement with niche-vehicle maker Koenigsegg AB.

Koenigsegg’s full purchase of Saab, a longtime money-loser for the recently bankrupt GM, still hinges on funding for the unit from the Swedish government, as well as “transitional assistance” from GM, the Detroit auto maker says in a statement earlier today.

GM also will continue to provide technology to Saab for a defined period.

GM does not make public the duration of the license agreement, but Saab has at least three new products coming soon that use key platforms: the 9-3 sports sedan and larger 9-5 ride on the auto maker’s latest Epsilon architecture, while a premium version of Theta Epsilon is expected to shoulder the 5-passenger 9-4X cross/utility vehicle.

Carl-Peter Forster, president of GM Europe, calls the purchase agreement with Koenigsegg “an important step in the journey to a potential deal.”

Saab is expected to exit reorganization in Sweden shortly, and plans call for the auto maker to begin operating in the black in 2011.