Koenigsegg Pulls Out! UPDATED 27-11
DETROIT /2009-11-24
General Motors confirmed today that the proposed sale of its Saab subsidiary to Koenigsegg Group AB was terminated at the discretion of the buyer.
"We're obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase," said GM President and CEO, Fritz Henderson. "Many have worked tirelessly over the past several months to create a sustainable plan for the future of Saab by selling the brand and its manufacturing interests to Koenigsegg Group AB. Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week."
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UPDATES:SAAB 2010 9-5
GM's Saab Unit Gets Further InterestBEIJING (
TheStreet)-27.11.2009
Beijing Automotive Industry Holding, Merbanco and Renco have expressed interest in General Motors' Saab unit after a sale to Koenigsegg Group failed, Bloomberg reports, citing two people familiar with the matter.
All Roads Lead to China For Saab?
No written proposals have been submitted yet and any new bids or other options for Saab will be reviewed during GM's board meeting on Tuesday. GM directors may opt to retain Saab like they did with Opel earlier but the company also has a contingency plan to close down the brand, the people told Bloomberg.
Earlier this week, Koenigsegg pulled out of talks to acquire Saab, saying it ran out of time to complete the transaction. Beijing Automotive, which was a partner in the investor group, said this week it will "cautiously" reconsider plans to buy a stake in the Swedish carmaker.
Merbanco is a Wyoming-based investor group. Its president, Christopher Johnston, told Bloomberg in an interview that Merbanco would be willing to help Saab.
Chris Preuss, a GM spokesman, and Saab's Eric Geers declined to comment for Bloomberg.
GM's Saab Saga: Back To The Drawing Board, Or Call It Quits?By Richard Read
November 25th, 2009
General Motors fans were dealt a major blow yesterday when another of the company's brand sales collapsed -- this time, the sale of Swedish marque Saab to Koenigsegg Group AB. A member of the Swedish government says that GM will continue to seek out a buyer for the beleaguered brand, but whether Sweden or GM truly believes that is a matter for debate.
Like GM's previous failed deal to sell Saturn to Roger Penske, this turn of events came with little or no explanation from either party. All that's known for sure is that Koenigsegg backed out, and after some consideration, Sweden opted not to purchase the brand itself. (Not really surprising, given that the country's enterprise minister, Maud Olofsson, has gone on record as saying "The Swedish state is not prepared to own car factories".)
However, all is not lost according to Joeran Haegglund, state secretary at Sweden's Industry Ministry. Haegglund has been intimately involved in the Saab negotiations and had this to say about recent developments: "I talked to GM last night and my impression is that they have not given up hope". Now, that's a fairly noncomittal statement, and it may turn out to be seriously wishful thinking (we've seen it before from Haegglund), but since he's closer to this event than we are, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. And in his defense, Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation, which was part of the Koenigsegg Group, has said that it's looking for ways to become a bigger player in the international marketplace. Many doubt that BAIC could afford the brand on its own, but it might opt to purchase select assets.
(Which of course means that yet another Swedish brand could be heading to China.)As for General Motors, the company hasn't issued much in the way of official statements, other than to say that GM's management is very disappointed with the turn of events. GM has a board meeting scheduled for next week, and this will certainly be the hottest topic on the agenda.
NOVEMBER 23, 2009
Saab Faces Scrapheap as Sale FailsBy JOHN D. STOLL.jpg)
Another of General Motors Co.'s brands appears all but headed for the junkyard after the collapse of the company's plan to sell Saab to a Swedish maker of exotic cars. Koenigsegg Group AB said Tuesday it was backing out of the deal, citing a series of costly delays in closing its planned purchase of Saab.
The agreement with Koenigsegg was based on financial backing from the Swedish government, but in the end, taking on Saab proved to be too costly for a boutique car maker with no high-volume manufacturing experience.
Officials of the Swedish government, currently the only source of financing for a Saab restructuring, said the future of the operation and its 4,000 workers hinges on another buyer surfacing. In an interview Tuesday, Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson said it is "premature" to speculate on the company's fate.
Many industry observers say the emergence of another buyer for the money-losing company is unlikely amid the car business's historic downturn. Still, Saab on Tuesday received at least one expression of interest from a potential purchaser, said a person familiar with the matter.
Projected to sell fewer than 50,000 vehicles globally this year, Saab represents less than 1% of GM's total sales. Revamping its aging vehicle lineup and retooling its plants could consume billions of dollars.
If GM chooses to keep Saab, it may have to find a way to replace at least part of the €400 million ($598 million) loan from the European Investment Bank that the Swedish government guaranteed to Saab. Under its terms, Saab needs to find a private investor to take it over.
The Swedish government said Tuesday it hoped Saab would survive but it wasn't prepared to aid the car maker beyond offering loan guarantees to a buyer. It reiterated that its future depended on the emergence of another purchaser.
GM purchased half of Saab about 20 years ago for $500 million, and picked up the other half a decade later for under $200 million. GM has said Saab recorded only one year of black ink during that period.
Christian von Koenigsegg-The Deal Incomplete!
Swedish automaker pulls out of deal with GM for Saab
Robert Snell / The Detroit News
General Motors Co.'s efforts to sell castoff brands took another hit today when the buyer of Saab terminated the deal.
In a short statement, GM said Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg Group AB backed out for undisclosed reasons.
The End of Saab? Koenigsegg Pulls the Plug on Saab Sale
Today 08:33 AM by Rory Jurnecka
Breaking news from General Motors this morning is that Swedish supercar builder Koenigsegg has terminated a deal to purchase premium automaker Saab this morning. No detailed reason was given for the deal's break down, with GM stating only that the proposed sale "was terminated at the discretion of the buyer."
The Saab-Koenigsegg deal was announced in mid-August, with Koenigsegg proposing that it take a 100% stake in Saab. The sale came not long after GM announced it would stop funding the automaker should a sale not be tied up by January 1, 2010.
POSTED: 11:21 A.M. NOV. 24, 2009
GM's sale of Saab brand collapses as buyer retreatsBY TIM HIGGINS
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
General Motors Co.’s efforts to sell its Saab subsidiary have run afoul, with the buyer terminating the deal, the automaker announced today.
GM believed it was going to sell Hummer, Saab and Saturn while closing down the Pontiac brand. But in late September, a deal to sell Saturn to Penske Automotive Group fell apart at the last moment. Following that setback, GM announced it was moving forward with winding down the Saturn brand.
In October, GM reached a final deal to sell the Hummer brand to Chinese construction equipment maker Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. but it still must be closed and is awaiting final government approvals.
Koenigsegg Drops Agreement For Purchase of SaabNo savoir on horizon for ailing Swedish company.by Ken Zino on Nov.24, 2009
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General Motors confirmed today that the proposed sale of its Saab subsidiary to Koenigsegg Group AB was terminated at the “discretion of the buyer.”
To make the deal work, Koenigsegg, the ultra small Swedish sports car maker for the ultra rich, put together a deal with Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Company Ltd, which would become a partner. BAIC, which is controlled by the Chinese Government, would have become a minority owner in Koenigsegg Group.
It remains to be seen if problems with the Beijing Auto partnership led to the collapse of the sale, but at this point, a GM source stresses there are “no other buyers in tow.”
As a result, the future of its loss-making subsidiary now appears grim, since GM has said it will not put any more money into the operation.
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Sincerely think this is
good for The "New" GM.
SAAB is a strong global brand and even a stronger one in Europe.
SAAB brand's status carried no relevance what so ever to Hummer or Saturn under the GM umbrella; it is a well-rooted 'engineering oriented' name.
The pull-out will certainly cause some cash flow problems for GM but if I were the GM, I would do everything to keep this brand.
If the financials keep improving like they are for the last quarter then its not going to be a difficult task. SAAB does not require anything close to keeping OPEL; check out the numbers if u will...
If GM decides or is forced not to keep SAAB, then my first guess is that the Chinese will come along rushing and bid even higher than Koenigsegg to buy it; then my second guess is that
Penske, getting over his frustration with the Saturn deal may approach GM to sort out a deal.
This is feasible for Penske as SAAB has its own/separate manufacturing & engineering facilities(not like Saturn's, fully attached to GM.
I would do everything to keep SAAB ownership in the US and NEVER sell it to the Chinese.
I do HOPE that
Obama & the
Auto Task Force will assess the situation in parallel terms to mine.
Good for GM; good for the US Auto Industry..!
/MT
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