Stockholm  - US car giant General Motors (GM) has signed a deal to sell Saab to a Swedish consortium - but the financing for the deal was still being discussed, according to media reports Tuesday.

The Koenigsegg Group consortium is centred on Koenigsegg, a small Swedish sportscar company that sold 20 luxury sportscars last year.

Koenigsegg Group board chairman Augie Fabela told the financial daily Dagens Industri that a deal has been signed to buy GM's shares in Saab Automobile.

Fabela said 70 per cent of the financing has been achieved and the remaining portion would take some months to secure, the daily said, adding that Febela was also to invest an undisclosed sum.

Financing still being discussed includes a 600 million dollar loan from the European Investment Bank - which in turn hinges on a Swedish state loan guarantee.

The government has so far held off, saying it needs to get a clear picture of Saab's new owner before putting taxpayer's money at risk.

Car industry analyst Matts Carlsson was cautiously optimistic over the reports, noting that current ties to GM concerning car platforms and other technology would be dissolved.

"The new owner group will have a free hand in terms of finding other contractors and partners rather than to be locked into General Motors," Carlsson told Swedish radio news.

GM has earlier agreed to writedown most of Saab debt.

Saab in February filed for protection from its creditors after GM announced that it was cutting its ties with the Swedish carmaker by the end of 2009.

GM's interest in Saab - one of Europe's smallest carmakers - dates back to the early 1990s. The company took full control in 2000. (dpa)