It’s real easy – show up with the money and you can have it

The unlikely story of GM's divorce from Saab throws up more twists and turns than the Stelvio Pass. Despite having announced that the company was being wound-up before Christmas, GM continues to extend its deadline for new buyers to come in and save the stricken Swedish car company, despite having orignally announced that it was all over on December 18, 2009.

Now, Bernie Ecclestone has thrown his hat into the ring, announcing that he making a bid along with with partner Genii Capital, a Luxembourg-based private equity firm. Ecclestone went public with the story yesterday, telling Bloomberg: 'It’s a good brand that has probably been neglected by the current owners. We don’t own it yet, so let’s see what happens.'

Genii Capital has recently made a significant investment in the Renault F1 team, and wants to up its involvement in the automotive industry. In s statement, it told Bloomberg, 'GM has decided that given an adequate and short time frame for finalising its offer, it will aggressively work towards a successful closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the company.'

GM has extended the deadline, allowing existing bidders to put forward their rescue packages. These include Spyker, who's chief executive, Victor Muller, announced: 'We believe the Saab brand has lots of potential and would be keen to close a deal as quickly as possible.'

GM now has to decide whether to restart Saab production on January 11, after a four-week shutdown for the Christmas period.

GM doesn't want to be seen as the company that closes Saab - its chief executive Ed Whitacre told reporters that buying Saab would be simple: 'It’s real easy – show up with the money and you can have it,'

Stay tuned for more twists and turns...