General Motors announced Tuesday that it had agreed to sell its Swedish unit, Saab Automobile, to a consortium led by the sports car maker Koenigsegg Automotive, according to The New York Times.

The companies said a deal was contingent on $600 million of financing from the European Investment Bank that is to be guaranteed by the Swedish government. They did not release further financial details of the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter.

Saab sold 93,000 cars last year, and it has not turned a profit in years. With a narrow, though loyal, customer base focused on Sweden, Britain and the American Northeast, it proved too small to lure the world's big automakers, many of which are seeking tie-ups to increase economies of scale.

Koenigsegg, an unlisted company with 45 employees based in Angelholm, Sweden, turns out just a few "super cars" -- high-performance sports cars costing more than $1 million each -- a year. It was founded by Christian von Koenigsegg, and a Norwegian entrepreneur, Bard Eker, holds a 49 percent stake.