General Motors Co. agreed to sell its Saab unit to sports-car maker Spyker Cars NV in a deal that would save the 72-year-old Swedish brand from extinction.

The transaction, subject to a $563 million European Investment Bank loan for Saab, will probably be completed in February, GM and Spyker said yesterday.

Spyker will pay $74 million in cash and $326 million in preferred shares in the new company called Saab Spyker Automobiles.