Top contenders for Saab purchase named
Three bidders from three different countries are said to be the most likely buyers for Saab Automobile, according to an unnamed source with Saab's owner, General Motors (GM).
China-based Geely, Italy’s Fiat, and a German bank are the three bidders most likely to buy Saab from GM, a source from the company told the Göteborgs Tidning (GT) newspaper.
The source added, however, that the head of GM, Fritz Henderson, still doesn’t want to sell the troubled Swedish unit.
“The Chinese bid is finished, but Henderson is afraid of competition,” the source told GT.
According to Saab administrator Guy Lofalk, each of the bidders has signed on to Saab’s plan for reconstructing the debt-laden automaker, which include moving the manufacturing site for the new Saab 9-5 to the plant in Trollhättan in western Sweden.
In the coming days, Lofalk hopes to convince Saab’s 700 creditors to write down 75 percent of the company’s 10.6 billion kronor in debt ($1.4 billion).
He also looks forward to signing an initial agreement with one of the buyers by early June.
“Things look quite good now. I hope that it stays that way until the end, but nothing is done until it’s done. When things look the most dismal, the situation can suddenly improve, and vice versa,” Lofalk told the TT news agency
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China-based Geely, Italy’s Fiat, and a German bank are the three bidders most likely to buy Saab from GM, a source from the company told the Göteborgs Tidning (GT) newspaper.
The source added, however, that the head of GM, Fritz Henderson, still doesn’t want to sell the troubled Swedish unit.
“The Chinese bid is finished, but Henderson is afraid of competition,” the source told GT.
According to Saab administrator Guy Lofalk, each of the bidders has signed on to Saab’s plan for reconstructing the debt-laden automaker, which include moving the manufacturing site for the new Saab 9-5 to the plant in Trollhättan in western Sweden.
In the coming days, Lofalk hopes to convince Saab’s 700 creditors to write down 75 percent of the company’s 10.6 billion kronor in debt ($1.4 billion).
He also looks forward to signing an initial agreement with one of the buyers by early June.
“Things look quite good now. I hope that it stays that way until the end, but nothing is done until it’s done. When things look the most dismal, the situation can suddenly improve, and vice versa,” Lofalk told the TT news agency
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