Saab scores €13M order, Swedish real estate firm's property offer in the wings

Saab may have finally found a willing partner to buy the company's assets and lease them back to the automaker. According to Reuters, the Swedish real estate firm Hemfosa has agreed to make the move, but the complex financial situation surrounding Saab may make the deal difficult. The European Investment Bank must first sign off on the plan, and both Pangda and Youngman – two Chinese partners in the Saab dance – are also required to pay some money. Saab needs the deal to go through in order to secure short-term funding so that the manufacturer can continue to pay its employees. Right now, that's not happening.

Still, Hemfosa isn't entirely sold on picking up the Saab holdings. The properties are more valuable with the automaker in place and turning out vehicles, but since the company's future is anything but certain, there's more than a little risk involved in the deal. Reuters reports that the purchase and lease agreement is valued at around $46 million at current conversion rates.

Meanwhile, another unnamed Chinese buyer purchased a total of 582 Saab vehicles, offering an additional short-term lifeline worth €13 million, or $18.47 million USD. Even so, that's only enough cash to pay the company's workers, not its suppliers. The news wasn't enough to stop the company's union members from resigning from the automaker's board of directors.