Saab to file for bankruptcy: report

Beleaguered Swedish automaker Saab is expected to file for bankruptcy on Monday, according to reports in the Swedish media.

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Citing “several independent sources”, Swedish business daily Dagens Industri (DI) reported early on Monday that Saab's parent company Swedish Automobile (Swan) is expected to submit a bankruptcy petition on Monday afternoon to the Vännersborg District Court.

However, a “well-placed” source at Saab told the TT news agency that a decision about putting Saab in bankruptcy has yet to be taken.

Anette Hellgren, chair of the Saab chapter of the Unionen labour union, told TT she hadn't heard anything about the reported bankruptcy either.

“We haven't heard anything about this,” she said.

*Whether negotiations between Saab and Chinese firm Youngman have reached a conclusion also remains unclear.

“As far as I know they were still negotiating at the weekend in Stockhlm,” Thomas Haglund, chair of the Saab chapter of the white collar Ledarna labour union, told TT.

Haglund refused to comment on whether or not Saab had filed for bankruptcy, saying he preferred to “wait and see”.

“It's only a rumour,” he told TT.

Last Wednesday, Saab's appointed administrator Guy Lofalk asked the court to lift the bankruptcy protection that has keep creditors at bay for weeks, saying there is no money left to carry out a successful reorganization of the business.

Meanwhile Saab employees are still waiting to be paid for November.

Saab CEO Victor Muller responded by trying to stitch up a solution that wouldn't require approval of Saab's previous owner, US automaker General Motors (GM), which previously put a stop to the planned purchase of Saab by Chinese auto companies Pang Da and Youngman.

Muller has been negotiating with Youngman for a loan that would allow Saab to pay workers for November and continue with the reorganization.

According to a source at Saab, the Chinese have promised to provide the funds, but have yet to actually deliver the money.

“The situation is extremely difficult, but there hasn't been a decision about bankruptcy,” the source told TT.

As of the close of business on Monday, the court had yet to receive any bankruptcy petition from Saab.

However, bankruptcy rumours forced a halt in trading for shares of Swedish Automobile on the Amsterdam stock exchange after the share price dropped by 20 percent.