Formula 1 commercial rights manager Bernie Ecclestone has joined a bid to purchase struggling Swedish car maker Saab.
Saab, owned by General Motors, has been put up for sale, and there is an imminent deadline for a sale or the brand faces closure. A previous deal to sell the company to Dutch supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg fell through, but now Ecclestone has joined forces with private investment company Genii Capital, which recently bought a stake in the Renault Formula 1 team, to buy it.
"[Saab] is a good brand that has probably been neglected by the current owners," Ecclestone told Bloomberg.
Dutch car maker Spyker is also interested in the Swedish manufacturer, with a third Swedish company also joining the bid. However, emphasizing that time is of the essence in arranging a rescue package for Saab, GM announced Friday that it had arranged for corporate restructuring firm AlixPartners to oversee the wind-down of the company. GM added that it would continue to evaluate proposals to buy Saab during the wind-down process.