Saab will not be wound up as was expected. A deal has been struck between General Motors (GM), its US parent company, and Spyker, a Dutch company, to sell the Swedish carmaker for $74 million in cash plus shares in Saab worth $326 million. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in mid-February.
GM put the company up for sale a year ago as part of its restructuring plan, which emerged from bankruptcy protection. Despite there being several parties interested in buying Saab, no deal was entered into and it looked as if Saab was heading for liquidation. Saab has not made a profit since 2001. It sold just under 40,000 cars in 2009 and made 20,791, compared with sales of 94,751 and production of 89,086 in 2008. The company has 34,000 employees worldwide, including 3,400 at its headquarters in Sweden. Revenues last year dropped to €1 billion from €1.6 billion a year earlier, and its assets are estimated at €1 billion.
Spyker is a small company that produced only 23 cars in the first six months of 2009. As part of the deal with GM, Spyker is hoping to secure a loan from the European Investment Bank worth €400 million, which will be guaranteed by the Swedish Government. The loan request is subject to approval. Spyker has also procured back-up financing from a UK-based private equity group, which will lend it up to €150 million over three years in return for newly issued shares.
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