SAAB deal done but not dusted
Publication:
Wednesday, 27 January, 2010 - 00:00
chiefofficersnet
As GM continued its shutdown of SAAB, Genii Capital said that that was the final straw and pulled out of discussions. That was yesterday morning in Europe. By yesterday morning in the USA, GM had announced it had, at last done a deal to sell what's left of SAAB. It would, the company said, go to Spyker after all, and the shutdown would be suspended immediately.
It almost smacks of brinkmanship: a statement yesterday morning from Genii said "Genii Capital believes that the timing of the next stage of the shutdown process at SAAB is not compatible with its requirements for putting in place a solid business platform for the future and closing the transaction." In short: if GM keep going as they are, there will be nothing left to buy.
GM had previously announced that its negotiations with Spyker, a tiny Dutch manufacturer of seriously fast cars that has dabbled in Formula One, were dead.
But then, during the American morning, GM made another announcement: not only was the deal with Spyker back on, but terms had been agreed (but not announced) and as a result, the shutdown would be suspended.
But SAAB is not the complete unit it was a year ago: some of its assets have already been sold to a Chinese manufacturer.