Business in brief: Dealer will stock Saabs no longer

Jaremko Nissan/Saab will lose its right to sell Saabs when General Motors Corp. dumps the brand later this month, but Jaremko general sales manager David Biggs said Monday the termination will have little effect; the Spokane Valley dealership sold its last new Saab six months ago.

Biggs said Jaremko has sold Saab since 1989. Sales peaked around 12 a month before GM bought the Swedish company in 2000, he said.

Volume has gradually slipped, in part because working through GM was much harder than dealing with Saab directly, Biggs said.

Jaremko’s parts and service business will continue, in part because a large Seattle dealer closed its doors rather than continue its relationship with GM.

GM is selling Saab to Koenigsegg Group AB, a group that includes a Swedish car maker, and investors from Norway and Russia.

Bert Caldwell

Vonage will provide refunds

NEW YORK – Internet phone service provider Vonage Holdings Corp. has agreed to pay $3 million to 32 states – Washington, Idaho and Montana among them – to settle an investigation into some of its business practices.

In a filing Monday with the Securities Exchange Commission, the company said it also agreed to provide refunds to affected customers.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said his office received complaints from consumers who said they found it difficult to cancel their service with Vonage amid pressure from the company to keep their accounts.

The 32 states are sharing the $3 million settlement to cover legal and other costs, and any refunds owed by Vonage are on top of that amount. Claims can be filed through attorneys general for the participating states.

Time Warner to spin off AOL

NEW YORK – Time Warner says it will spin off its Internet business, AOL, as a separate company on Dec. 9.

Time Warner Inc. said Monday it has declared a dividend on the AOL shares it owns that will result in a complete separation of the two companies.

On Dec. 9, Time Warner stockholders of record Nov. 27 will receive AOL common stock for every 11 shares of Time Warner common stock they hold.

Time Warner was initially purchased by AOL in 2001. The media conglomerate had said earlier this year it would spin off AOL after years of trying unsuccessfully to integrate the two companies.