Saab-Spyker Deal Sabotaged By Mobbed-Up Russian Finance?

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

GM’s CEO and Chairman Ed Whitacre confirmed today that Dutch boutique sportscar firm Spyker is the only bidder for what’s left of Saab after the BAIC deal. Saab insiders insist that the firm can continue without the old tooling and technology sold to BAIC, and they still have their hopes pinned on the new 9-5 model. But, as the WSJ reports, Spyker earned a mere €7.9m in 2008 revenue, and has already endured an €8.7m net loss in the first half of this year. Spyker’s in no position to be saving struggling Swedish automakers. But behind Spyker is Convers Group, a Russian banking group with deep pockets… and a uniquely Russian reputation.

The NY Times reports that Spyker is

controlled by Alexander Antonov, a Russian tycoon who was shot seven times and reportedly lost a finger in a failed assassination attempt in Moscow in March. His son Vladimir Antonov, a 34-year-old banker who is a top executive at Convers, is chairman of Spyker.

At the time, news reports suggested the attack was related to Antonov’s “professional activities.” Fueling the mystery behind the hit, unnamed suspects who were arrested not long after the attack were then also tied to the assassination of Ruslan Yamadayev, an enemy of the Russian-backed president of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. Though, as analyst Andrei Soldatov tells The St Petersburg Times, any links between Antonov’s assassination and Yamayedev’s could be fabricated to “make the impression that there is a different group, one that is not associated with the Kadyrov clan, that sought to kill the Yamadayevs.” Chechen blood feuds can be so damned complicated.

One thing is clear: Antonov didn’t get riddled with 18 bullets as a sign of admiration for his deep commitment to intellectual property law. And GM has indicated that IP concerns were a major reason for the death of the Opel deal to Magna, which had backing from another Russian bank. Saab sold its old IP and tooling to BAIC in order to keep the company as intact as possible in hopes of a last ditch deal with Spyker. To make even a minuscule amount of sense, that deal would have to include the new 9-5, which represents the only real value in Saab (nobody needs a Swedish factory). Saab says it can last for 3 months on the BAIC cash, but Ed Whitacre has made it clear that if a deal isn’t done by the end of this month, Saab will be liquidated. Given the wild reputation of the financier behind the purchase, that scenario looks more likely than ever.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Autonut Autonut on Dec 15, 2009

    Antonov is an amazing man! 18 bullets and only lost a finger. Anyway to tie Fritz Henderson to assassination attempt?

  • No_slushbox No_slushbox on Dec 16, 2009

    Oh my god, if Saab gets liquidated where will people get mediocre FWD cars? Those are so rare. The 9-5 is completely pointless since the Buick version of the Epsilon-II platform will also come with a manual transmission. If this Russian buys Saab he'll lose more than his finger.

    • PartsUnknown PartsUnknown on Dec 16, 2009

      Hilarious! You just can't help yourself, can you? Typical Camry driver...

  • FreedMike Off topic, but folks, this site is not working well for me from a technical standpoint, and it doesn't matter if I'm using my phone, or my computer (on two different browsers). It locks up and makes it impossible to type anything in after a certain point. Anyone else having these issues?
  • Syke Kinda liked the '57, hated the '58. Then again, I hated the entire '58 GM line except for the Chevrolet. Which I liked better than the '57's. Still remember dad's '58 Impala hardtop, in the silver blue that was used as the main advertising color.
  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
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