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Saab Automobile, the cash-starved Swedish carmaker, is close to securing a loan of about 1 billion kronor (US$157 million) to pay overdue salaries and avert a looming bankruptcy, three people familiar with the matter said.

The loan would be provided by one of the five biggest European banks, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. The loan will likely be announced as early as tomorrow, the person said.

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The carmaker, which General Motors Co. sold in 2010, first suspended production in late March amid a cash crunch, and the main factory in Trollhaettan, Sweden, has been shut since early June. Saab delayed paying wages last week, the third consecutive postponement in as many months, prompting labor leaders to start a process that may lead them to seek a bankruptcy declaration against the carmaker if wages aren’t paid.

“They need the money immediately,” Tom Muller, an analyst at Theodoor Gilissen Bankiers NV in Amsterdam, said today by phone. “I hope they solve it this week, otherwise I think it’s over for Saab. It’s a very dire situation.”