Spyker sues GM over failed Saab takeover

AMSTERDAM (AP) - Spyker Cars NV, the tiny Dutch company that bought Swedish carmaker Saab from General Motors Co. for US$74 million (S$91.8 million) in 2010, said Monday it is suing GM for US$3 billion in damages.

Spyker, along with its now-bankrupt Saab subsidiary, alleges that GM unfairly blocked deals that would have seen a Chinese manufacturer take over Saab production and save it from bankruptcy. It says GM feared competing with Saab in China.

"We owe it to our stakeholders and ourselves that justice is done," said Spyker CEO Victer Muller. "We tirelessly worked to save Saab Automobile until GM destroyed those efforts and deliberately drove Saab Automobile into bankruptcy." GM could not immediately be reached for comment.

Saab continued a downward spiral under Spyker's ownership as consumers worried about buying cars from a maker that appeared likely to be out of business soon. The Swedish company eventually went bankrupt in late 2011. It is now being bought out of bankruptcy by National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB.