SOURCE: Bloomberg By Ola Kinnander
Sweden Steps In to Broker Saab Deal, Told by GM Sale Possible
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. told the Swedish government that it’s still considering bids for its Saab unit while winding down the brand, according to a government spokesman.
Swedish officials, including State Secretary Joeran Haegglund, the government’s main liaison to the auto industry, visited GM in Detroit yesterday to explain how Sweden can guarantee a 400 million-euro ($580 million) loan for Saab from the European Investment Bank, the European Union’s lending arm, said Haakan Lind, a government spokesman.
The Swedish representatives held “good” talks with GM officials, Lind said in a telephone interview today. The officials discussed how fast the loan can be guaranteed, depending on which bidder gets to buy Saab, he said.
GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said yesterday that none of the offers the carmaker has received so far for Trollhaettan, Sweden-based Saab presents an attractive alternative to shutting the unit and that it will continue the process of shutting down the brand.
“The process continues,” Lind said. “There’s still a chance Saab will be sold.”
Genii Capital, the Luxembourg-based private-equity firm that agreed to acquire a majority stake in Renault SA’s F1 team last month, submitted a cash offer for Saab on Jan. 7. Dutch supercar maker Spyker Cars NV also submitted an offer, a revision of its Dec. 20 bid. Other bidders include a group headed by Jan Nygren, a former Swedish deputy prime minister, and a Wyoming-based investor group headed by Merbanco Inc. President Chris Johnston.
Saab restarted production in Trollhaettan yesterday after a four-week holiday break. Saab’s 3,500 workers today are scheduled to leave the factory “for a short while” to show their outrage with the wind-down process, Paul Aakerlund, an IF Metall union representative on the Saab board, said in a telephone interview.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ola Kinnander in Stockholm at +46-8-610-0714 or okinnander@bloomberg.net
