Saab Sells Factory, But Sweden and EIB May Be Killing It Off Anyway

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Saab has reached a deal to sell 50.1% of its real estate holdings to a consortium led by Hemfosa Fastigheter AB, for about $40m, and has also received an order for $18.4m worth of vehicles from an unnamed Chinese firm according to AN [sub], giving the dead-alive Swedish firm the faintest, cruelest glimmer of hope. The real estate deal was for about a third less than the property had previously been valued at, and still needs to be approved by the Swedish Debt Office, the EIB and GM. Meanwhile, the real struggle is ongoing, as a Saab spokesperson tells Reuters that

Today’s news takes us a good way in the right direction, but it is the agreement (with suppliers) that matters and only then will we be able to communicate a date when we can restart production

But suppliers aren’t even the first in line for Saab’s much-needed cash injection: that goes to workers who are promising to take the company into bankruptcy if they aren’t paid soon. These two recent deals should be enough to pay worker salaries through July, but if suppliers aren’t brought back as well to restart production, the bulk sale and an earlier order from PangDa will never be filled. And those suppliers are currently mulling over an offer of ten percent of what they are owed until the Chinese inject more cash later in the year… not the greatest deal ever. Meanwhile, Saab says

There are other initiatives still being pursued. There is not much we can say about that until we have something concrete to communicate

Like what? What could there possibly be to communicate?

SVD.se reports that GM is increasingly sympathetic to Vladimir Antonov’s case, and that approval of his stake in the firm could come “within days.” But the problem, it seems isn’t GM but the EIB. A rumor reported in SVD.se goes something like this: the EIB “found something” in its research on Antonov, and with Swedish elections coming down the line, the government wants to let the EIB take the fall for “killing” Saab by not giving approval to Antonov. This is very much a rumor, but given how important confidence is in any kind of cash crisis, not to mention the fact that an eventual Antonov investment has been a key confidence builder for struggling Saab, this is shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. In any case, there’s got to be a reason for the EIB’s continued non-approval of Antonov’s investment, and even if there isn’t, every day that goes by without approval, these rumors will only grow and further undermine confidence in Saab as a going concern. Ironically, the EIB cites Saab’s lack of viability for refusing to pay out further installments of its loan as well, further aggravating the vicious cycle that we call “circling the drain.”

And the problem, ultimately, all comes back to production. Some of Saab’s suppliers, including dashboard contractor IAC, are refusing to go along with Saab’s plans to restart the line next week, saying they are not cooperating with the factory at all. And though dagensarena.se is trying to put political pressure on the Swedish government to force the EIB’s hand and get a deal together, there seems to be relatively little leverage for that argument. After all, Saabs employees aren’t working now, and observers seem to believe that many current employees could keep working even in bankruptcy. How? Give up the building cars thing and become a dedicated engineering and consulting outfit. After all, that strategy has kept even smaller firms (like Lotus) afloat before now…


Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Sam P Sam P on Jun 29, 2011

    When Saab eventually ceases to be a going concern, I wonder how much of a depreciation hit late-model Saabs will take.Saab produced a 280 horsepower AWD 9-3 with a 6-speed manual gearbox in 2007-8 and brought a number of them to the US market. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008/11/review-saab-9-3-turbo-x/ I bet parts will be pretty much unobtanium after the company's demise, though, and reliability will probably make my Bimmer look like a Corolla.

    • Bryce Bryce on Jun 29, 2011

      Parts are easy its just a Vauxhall VXR with a Saab badge but the dealers think theyre worth real money though customers are few and far between

  • Meccano Meccano on Jun 30, 2011

    And you would loose that bet. SAAB's part division is a separate entity; a subsidiary legally protected from the sins of the parent. SAAB goes under, SAAB Automobile's parts division lives on. They have their own contracts with suppliers, their own inventory, their own lines of credit, their own warehouses and their own distribution chain. Perhaps most importantly they are profitable. There are millions of SAABs out on the road (despite your presumed unreliability), so they have plenty of business for many years to come even if the last SAAB has already rolled off the assembly line. There is nothing mystical about repairing a SAAB either and any competent mechanic can work on them. Most independent mechanics that specialize in Volvos also gladly work on SAABs as well.

  • Lorenzo Are they calling it a K4? That's a mountain in the Himalayas! Stick with names!
  • MaintenanceCosts It's going to have to go downmarket a bit not to step on the Land Cruiser's toes.
  • Lorenzo Since EVs don't come in for oil changes, their owners don't have their tires rotated regularly, something the dealers would have done. That's the biggest reason they need to buy a new set of tires sooner, not that EVs wear out tires appreciably faster.
  • THX1136 Always liked the Mustang though I've never owned one. I remember my 13 yo self grabbing some Ford literature that Oct which included the brochure for the Mustang. Using my youthful imagination I traced the 'centerfold' photo of the car AND extending the roof line back to turn it into a small wagon version. At the time I thought it would be a cool variant to offer. What was I thinking?!
  • GregLocock That's a bodge, not a solution. Your diff now has bits of broken off metal floating around in it.
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