• Sweden edition
Business & Money

GM set to pump billions into Saab deal

Published: 15 Sep 09 17:00 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/22098/20090915/

General Motors is set to pay out an estimated 10 billion kronor ($1.4 billion) in a bid to ensure it completes the sale of its troubled Swedish subsidiary.

But the American car maker has also indicated it intends to retain ties to Saab Automobile even after the Swedish unit has been sold to the Koenigsegg Group consortium.

"GM is going to have a certain interest in Saab as part of a special financial arrangement that will be revealed in due course," said GM's European manger Carl-Peter Forster, speaking to news agency TT at the Frankfurt Motor Show on Tuesday.

Koenigsegg Group representatives have previously stated that GM is prepared to shell out 2.8 billion kronor for preferential shares in Saab Automobile, a move that would enable the ailing US giant to benefit from any future Saab profits.

GM's decision to sell Saab has already proved costly, with 7 billion kronor disappearing when the parent company took over a number of Saab's debts to its subcontractors.

GM has also agreed to pay for the production tools for the new Saab 9-5 and to release the Swedish firm from commitments to repay a restructuring loan, undertakings that amount to a combined total of around 3 billion kronor.

GM has also said it will contribute to further alleviating Saab's general cost burden to help ensure the successful implementation of Saab's new business plan.

Saab chief Jan Åke Jonsson confirmed that GM's contribution to Saab would land in the region of 10 billion kronor.

Jonsson added however that GM was hoping its goodwill would eventually lead to a return on its investment.

"We are going to retain our cooperation with GM through a number of agreements, and GM will deliver quite a few products to us that they make money from, such as engines and gearboxes," he said.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

What do you think? Leave your comment below.

Fark It! Digg This  Share everywhere
Send to a friend Printable version Twitter This

Your comments about this article:

The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.

02:28 September 16, 2009 by volvoman9
OK lets see if I understand this arrangement. As an American taxpayer who has subsidized this bailout of a failed and fatally flawed business model( that is GM). I am incensed! GM the company who furthermore ruined a superb example of Swedish class and engineering genius ( that was Saab) by forcing the same business model on this marque. Now we are going to pay someone to take them over and still keep our fingers in the pie so that they can't really enjoy a return to their former success. GM will force Saab to keep using the same crappy running gear and powerplants.

Honestly I am increasingly ashamed to be an American. The arrogance we display in insisting that we have the answers to life's problems is enough to make one's stomach turn.

The business model I refer to is the one that GM invented. The notion that one can build the same crappy platform and running gear and imbue it with any amount ( the more the better) of gaudy badges and gewgaws and stupid vinyl decals and lots and lots of shiny chrome crap and then market it as something else. America has not built a significant automotive product since the sixties.

Yet it's not enough that we dupe our own unsophisticated market into accepting this level of lowered expectation ; we have to try to force it on the rest of the world. This is madness. Please Sweden stand up to corporate greed and take back your heritage. Don't let the ugly side of capitalism chaulk up yet another mistake. Save us from ourselves.
04:10 September 16, 2009 by rjadams41
Having been a USA SAAB DEALER for 25 years, I find alot of comments from Sweden & USA very wrong... In the late 80"s when GM got to be part of SAAB... I could not believe it, but if they had not I think SAAB would not be here today.. It is a GREAT CAR... Let them keep going no matter who owns them..... Ex-Dealer Bob Adams Imports Albert Lea MN
11:20 September 16, 2009 by skane refugee
It's increasingly clear that GM will pay a lot of money to avoid the negative PR of closing down SAAB auto ... this will create a good financial opportunity to a smart 'purchaser' who can delay the inevitable for a year or two ...

The sad situation reflects more on the incompetence of local SAAB management in recent years than on GM ... keeping a cripplingly expensive local supplier cost base in a misguided attempt to preserve local Swedish manufacturing has brought a once proud and viable Swedish brand to the point where vast amounts of (Swedish and US) taxpayer money is needed just to keep it going ... and near term disappearance is a very real possibility :-(
19:04 September 16, 2009 by falcon
With no experience and capital, how much is Koenigsegg putting in? They want everyone else to fund them, the government, the chinese, GM. Do they know how to operate a car company? They bring dreams where much more is needed.

Koenigsegg is the wrong buyer.
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
Business & Money headlines

EU to probe Sweden's 'economic imbalance'

Sweden is among twelve countries set to be discussed in a report from the EU commission, due to what the European Commission has identified as imbalances in the economy. READ (7 COMMENTS) »

House prices in Sweden begin upward climb

House prices in Sweden begin upward climb

After observing a slight rise in real estate prices after the first month of 2012, Swedish realtors are hoping that this may be the beginning of a positive trend after last year's plummeting prices. READ »

Swedish recruiters check jobseekers on the net

Swedish recruiters check jobseekers on the net

40 percent of recruiters are checking potential employee’s social networking pages during the hiring process, a figure which has shot up from last year, according to a recent report. READ (3 COMMENTS) »

Narcolepsy victims in new compensation bid

Narcolepsy victims in new compensation bid

Families of children in Sweden suffering from narcolepsy caused by vaccination for the swine flu can expect some form of compensation, Swedish health minister Göran Hägglund said on Sunday in response to new calls for help from parents. READ (1 COMMENT) »

Saab shares dive despite strong 2011 report

Saab shares dive despite strong 2011 report

Swedish defence group Saab on Friday reported a major boost in earnings for 2011 thanks to winning several major contracts, but a drop in orders left investors jittery, sending Saab's stock price down nearly 10 percent. READ (3 COMMENTS) »

Mats Sundin in massive kid's health research gift

Mats Sundin in massive kid's health research gift

Mats Sundin, the ex-Swedish hockey great, has made a donation supporting research into children's health at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and the University of Toronto. READ (5 COMMENTS) »

H&M under fire over Cambodia mass faintings

H&M under fire over Cambodia mass faintings

H&M has been criticized for choosing not to attend a hearing to highlight poor conditions for textile workers in Cambodia, where hundreds of employees at a plant run by the Swedish fashion giant mysteriously passed out in August. READ (6 COMMENTS) »

SAS earnings hit by Spanair bankruptcy

SAS earnings hit by Spanair bankruptcy

The bankruptcy of Spanair pulled SAS into the red for 2011, despite improved operating profits, the Scandinavian airline reported on Wednesday. READ (2 COMMENTS) »

Saab to cut Swiss Gripen fighter price: report

Saab to cut Swiss Gripen fighter price: report

Swedish defence group Saab have announced that it will cut the price on its Gripen fighter jet to secure its Swiss order after a threat by French planemaker Dassault to undercut them. READ (6 COMMENTS) »

A file image of a worker at a Volvo Cars assembly plant

Few Swedes ready to work until they're 75: poll

An overwhelming majority of Swedes disagree with Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's suggestion that workers should be ready to stay on the job until they are 75, a new poll shows. READ (34 COMMENTS) »

More Business & Money

Highlights from Follow Sweden

20 things to know before moving to Sweden

As diverse as Sweden is, there are a few societal norms that are distinctly Swedish. Understanding a handful of them will hopefully prepare you culturally before you relocate. When you're invited home to a Swede, you better be on time and take your shoes off, writes expat Lola Akinmade-Åkerström. Read more »

How far can English take you in Sweden?

Sweden is a country where almost everyone can speak English. So why bother to learn Swedish? Edina Varnagy from Hungary managed with English for a whole year but then found that Swedish could open doors – to a job, a social life and greater understanding. Read more »


Find a new job in Sweden now
14/02 Principal Software Engineer - Limited Contract
Monster
Prague
14/02 YOUNG TALENT PROGRAM - AUTOMATION ENGINEER FOOD PROCESSING
Tetra Pak
Lund
14/02 Sales Representative Nordic
Occlutech International AB
Helsingborg
14/02 Channel Marketing Campaign Manager/Specialist - B2B
SAP
Stockholm
14/02 Business Controller
Michael page
Göteborg
14/02 Nordic Site IT Delivery Manager
Philips AB
Stockholm
14/02 Software Engineer (.NET) - Limited Contract
Monster
Prague
14/02 UX Engineer (.NET) - Limited Contract
Monster
Prague
14/02 Software Engineer - Gameplay/Audio
EA DICE
Stockholm
14/02 Sales Coordinator
Bureau Veritas S.A. Frankrike Filial
Göteborg

ALL JOBS »


Latest Business & Money news from Germany
Doctor of Psychology
Therapy in English in Stockholm Trained in California Individuals & Couples (08) 93 81 48 FREE phone consultation
Visit anxiousorblue.se
Get on the Tennis Court with www.babolatshop.se
The new Online Tennis Store with the largest selection of Babolat Products in Sweden
http://www.babolatshop.se
Turning Point Counseling
Turning Point Counselling centre offers the international community of Stockholm a safe space for personal development, counselling and coaching.
http://www.turning-point.se/show.asp
Swedish Down Town
Swedish Down Town PR Consulting and Productions is an innovative business company which provides valuable assistance with Public Relations and Communications in the swedish and the international market.
www.swedishdowntown.com
The Local's new Marketplace
Find products and services that are specifically focused on English speakers living in Sweden!
FULL DETAILS
English Speaking Therapist Stockholm
British-Australian Male Counsellor. Counselling Therapy for Depression, Mental Health, Sex, Relationship & Expat Issues
08-559 22 636 or CLICK HERE
Counseling in English
Individuals & Couples - Stockholm Beth Rogerson PhD - Clinical, Marriage & Family Therapist
Click or call 08-5580 1266 now