Saab off to Koenigsegg’s Garage

Posted: June 14th, 2009 | Author: Soeren | Filed under: Corporate, Koenigsegg, Saab | Tags: Koenigsegg, Saab | 1 Comment »

The tale of Saab may come to a close with a three way agreement through a letter of intent between General Motors, Koenigsegg, and a group of investors from Norway.

GM disclosed that it will no longer call the shots for Saab and the Swedish car manufacturer will be an independent entity by January 2010.

The announcement of the sale may come before the end of the month, considering the plans of the car maker to write off some debt and be on the positive side of the scale by 2011. Final negotiations might be taking place but final details are still being ironed out according to insiders.

According to the Saab spokesperson, there were three firms that are still showing interest for the company and the sale will push through despite of the filing of Chapter 11. Those remaining on the negotiating table are Swedish car maker Koenigsegg, Wyoming investor group Merbanco, and the Renco Group of Ira Rennert. The bidders’ number was trimmed down from a list of 20.

The details about the offers of the three firms have never been disclosed. Saab has been struggling to make ends meet and needs funding to keep its operations going both for the short and long term.

Saab is able to survive for now through the $3.23 billion funding from the Swedish government and some aid from private firms. The car manufacturer lost about $340 million in 2008 and is expected to file another $300 million worth of losses for this financial year.

The funding Saab will get will be used to launch new models in the next 18 months and help the auto maker come back on track as a pioneer in automotive technology.

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