Saab-Spyker Sells Spyker To Antonov

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Bloomberg reports that Spyker Cars NV has sold its sportscar business to former chairman Vladimir Antonov for €15m, with the promise of up to €17m more over the next six years if profits allow it. They probably wont, however, as Spyker’s sportscars sell at a rate of about 30 per year, and have never turned a profit in the seven years the business has been public. The move is necessary, however, as Antonov was forced out of his ownership stake at Spyker (at GM’s request) when the firm bought Saab. CEO Victor Muller bought Antonov’s stake through his holding company Tenaci, and by selling Antonov the sportscar business, Spyker can pay back some of its €74m debt to Tenaci (another €17m will be converted into Spyker shares). Plus, explains Muller

Spyker’s (luxury car business) is a small fish in a large pond. Spyker would need additional funds, but to issue shares and dilute shareholders seemed like a very bad plan so we decided to divest these activities

With Spyker no longer part of Spyker Cars NV (the firm that owns Saab), the firm will be renamed this May (probably to some variation of “Saab”) when it lists on the Stockholm stock exchange. Still, though Saab and Spyker sportscars are no longer combining their crazy plans into a pie-in-the-sky juggernaut, and this may help get the ship right-side-up again, there’s no knowing where it’s all headed. Antonov could still buy back into Saab, and it sounds like the two will continue to share distribution channels. Whether either side of the business can actually make money is still the real question.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Cmoibenlepro Cmoibenlepro on Feb 24, 2011

    First, Saab was included in GM big conglomerate, and wasn't profitable. Then, Saab became a part of a tiny company Saab-Spyker, and was even less profitable. Now, Saab is alone. How could it work?

  • Willman Willman on Feb 24, 2011

    Wait, Saab couldn't go to Spyker and they couldn't get financing because of Antonov. So Antonov leaves. Then Spyker gets Saab And financing. Now they're on their own, Spyker sells Spyker to Antonov and keeps Saab. Was this, a slightly Euro-fied version of the old "Potomac Two-Step", the plan all along? --The Amsterdam Cha-Cha? Trollhattan Do-Si-Do? Three-Card-Moskva? Rotterdam Reach-Around? ...

  • Charly Charly on Feb 24, 2011

    Saab sells about a 1000x more cars than Spyker. The money that Spyker makes or not makes is totally unimportant

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