STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish luxury car maker Koenigsegg Group could pull out of its planned purchase of Saab Automobile from General Motors <GM.UL> unless steps to secure loans are in place by Wednesday, a part owner told a newspaper on Saturday.
Norwegian businessman Bard Eker, who owns part of Koenigsegg through his holding company, told Dagens Industri that progress was needed on the billions of crowns of loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) that Koenigsegg needs to finalize the Saab deal.
"If everything is not in place before Wednesday we are out. We give up," Eker was quoted as saying by the Swedish business daily.
"The milestones that need to be achieved on Wednesday pertain to the EIB, the Swedish Debt Office and we at Koenigsegg Group moving at the same pace."
A Koenigsegg spokeswoman said she had no immediate comment on the report.
The Swedish government has not yet said if it will pledge the state guarantees needed in order for the EIB to approve loans to Saab Automobile. The debt office is handling the negotiations on the guarantees on behalf of the government.
Koenigsegg, backed by U.S. and Norwegian investors, struck a deal this year to buy GM's loss-making Saab Automobile business, but its ability to finance the purchase had remained in question.
This month, Koenigsegg said state-run Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings would take a minority stake in the luxury carmaker as part of its planned purchase of Saab, potentially solving some of the financing issues.
(Reporting by Niklas Pollard; editing by Sue Thomas)
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