The US investment group Merbanco pulls out of Saab race.

The executive officer of Wyoming-based investment group Merbanco said that General Motors has turned down its offer to buy Saab.

”Despite our best efforts and meeting the Sellers requirements, we were just notified we were not selected to buy Saab,” Merbanco CEO Christopher Johnston wrote in an e-mail to the Saab enthusiats site Saab United, the TT news wire reported. ”We are disappointed and quite tired.”

Sadly, the fate of the Swedish car maker seems sealed as GM chief Ed Whitacre said last week that the US auto giant had essentially given up on selling Saab, as nobody had come up with the money to seal the deal.

Last Friday GM decided on the liquidation of Saab. None of the bidders for the ailing Saab unit had submitted an offer that was "financially better for us than the wind-down", GM vice chairman Bob Lutz said.

Still, a group comprised of Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and Luxembourg investment firm Genii Capital submitted on Wednesday a revised bid and General Motors is said to be considering an offer by the Dutch sportscar maker Spyker "very seriously".

"We have shown Mr. Whitacre the money," Victor Muller, founder and chief executive of Spyker Cars, told an industry conference hosted by Automotive News in Detroit.