As the wind down of Saab begins, it has emerged that Genii Capital in partnership with F1 mogul Bernie Ecclestone has increased its offer to buy the company from GM.

Genii Capital entered the bidding process for the stricken Swedish carmaker last week at the final stage before GM closed the process for offers of interest to be registered.

Now it is reported that it is working on improving its offer.

"Genii is working on various improvements in its bid," Lars Carlstrom, who is coordinating a joint bid for Saab from Genii Capital and Ecclestone, told Reuters.

"Genii hopes to improve its bid so that it becomes more attractive for GM ... one has to sweeten it to be a part of the bidding, that's the message we've received ."

On Tuesday (12 Jan), GM said it will make a final decision on the fate of Saab no later than early February.

GM Europe president Nick Reilly told reporters at the Detroit show that talks with potential buyers - including F1 czar Bernie Ecclestone and partner Genii Capital - are ongoing.

However he said that Saab is losing money and "the longer this carries on ... the more difficult it is for someone to buy it".

Genii said that it has decided that, given an adequate and short timeframe for finalising its offer, it will “aggressively work towards a successful closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the company”.

It said that in partnership with Ecclestone and its “strong knowledge of the automotive industry” it can “add value to the car manufacturer by working on synergies with some of its portfolio companies in the areas of energy efficient engines, OEM components and on-board IT and media technologies – including pay per listen/pay per use systems”.

It said it believes that Saab has a “tremendous brand value in a number of key automotive markets as well as an innovative image”.

GM is considering the bid, along with a reported three others despite it appointing AlixPartners to "supervise the orderly wind down of Saab" on Friday (8 Jan).

"The use of a wind down supervisor is a commonly-used process in Sweden and works in the interest of the shareholder," said GM.

"The wind down process is expected to take several months, and will ensure that employees, dealers and suppliers are adequately protected.

"As stated previously, Saab customers can be assured that warranties will continue to be honoured and that service and spare parts will continue to be available."

GM confirmed that it has received several proposals to buy Saab and is continuing to evaluate these proposals.

"This evaluation is not affected by the appointment of AlixPartners," it said.

The deadline for submissions of interest in buying Saab ended on January 7.

GM had already extended the deadline and refused to do so again.

The GM board met on January 7 to decide the future of the brand.

Reports suggested that at least four companies were interested in buying the Swedish carmaker.

Sports car maker Spyker confirmed late last night that it has made a revised offer to GM for the acquisition of Saab.

Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker Cars said: "We have continued a constructive dialogue with GM over the acquisition of Saab.

"We believe the Saab brand has lots of potential and would be keen to close a deal as quickly as possible."

Automotive News reported that up to four additional groups are interested in buying Saab.

The news follows pleas from the car maker’s Swedish workforce for GM to do all it can to save the company.

Closure they say would mean the loss of the 3,400 direct jobs in the company as well as up to 10,000 indirect jobs in supplier companies.

“The Saab Trollhättan workforce has made enormous sacrifices to reduce costs and help this GM company survive the economic crisis.

"These efforts, together with the consultation process with the Swedish unions and authorities, have produced a viable business plan for the future of the company.

"We trust therefore that General Motors will fully shoulder its responsibilities and agree on an alternative solution to closure of the Trollhättan plant so that all these efforts will not have been in vain," said the EMF workers' union general secretary Peter Scherrer.

"The EMF calls on GM management and the Swedish Government to work hand-in-hand to pursue all alternative avenues to closure."

GM announced in the middle of December that it will kill-off the Saab brand after failing to find a buyer when negotiations with Spyker first collapsed.

But hopes are fading that the company can be saved after GM sold much of Saab technology and production rights to the current 9-3 and 9-5 models to Chinese company Beijing Automotive Industry Holding.

With the Swedish government refusing to step in to save loss-making Saab, it marks the end of the brand's 64 years producing cars unless the revised Spyker deal is accepted by GM.

GM took a 50% stake in Saab in 1990, and in 2000 took full ownership of the brand.

However, a lack of investment in the product over the years has seen its popularity wane

Ironically, the ageing 9-5 model was due to be replaced by an new version early next year, but this model will now not see the light of day.