BAE Systems, the British defense giant, unveiled on Friday that it's set to sell half of its 20.5 per cent stake in Sweden-based defense company Saab for £93 million. The deal will strengthen Sweden's Wallenberg family's hold on Saab.

BAE System, which is associated with Saab since its inception, is the single largest stakeholder in Saab, which manufactures Gripen jet fighter. BAE's stake in Saab was at 35.1 per cent when the company was listed initially in
1998.

The Gripen has managed some good sale in South Africa, Hungary, Thailand, the Czech Republic and Sweden. However, BAE along with Saab have faced allegations of making corrupt payments to get sales orders.

These charges have put BAE, which already has been struggling with few similar charges, into a critical situation triggering the company's decision to pull its hands from Saab.

However, the charges were dropped last month by the Serious Fraud Office to put an end to an in-depth investigation on BAE's role in the alleged bribery and corruption charges. BAE had to pay a fine of £30 million in the UK under the deal offered by SFO.