Life & Style | Motoring
Saab seeks new future as parent hunts for buyers
Swedish firm Koeniggsegg seen as frontrunner to buy GM subsidiary.
- By Arno Maierbrugger, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:21 June 7, 2009
Dubai: After successfully getting rid of its Opel and Hummer brands, General Motors is now in a hurry to dispose of its next problem child, Swedish carmaker Saab.
Saab's CEO Jan-Ake Jonsson was quoted by Swedish business daily Dagens Industri on Wednesday that the sale could take place "in the next two weeks".
Two "sincerely interested parties" from among the bidders are still in the fray, he said, adding he would commence negotiations with the "favourite bidder" soon.
While Saab would not disclose names of the bidders, Swedish industry sources see niche carmaker Koeniggsegg, based in Angelholm, southern Sweden, as the most possible buyer of General Motors' Swedish subsidiary.
The second potential bidder, Renco Group of US investor Ira Rennert, is heavily opposed by Sweden's unions, the sources say, given that any deal would raise suspicions about a short-time financial investor trying to dismember the carmaker in a bid to sell its profitable parts, such as Saab's renowned turbo technology.
Italian carmaker Fiat, which was bidding for Opel, has finally lost its interest in Saab.
Swedish car group Koeniggsegg is a privately owned designer and manufacturer of so-called super sports cars, such as the 1.3-million euro (Dh6.76 million) CCRX model, capable of generating a staggering 1,018 horsepower from an ethanol-powered engine.
The company's founder, Christian von Koeniggsegg, is well known for his networking capabilities among possible investors and high net-worth individuals with an interest in sports cars.
For Saab, Koeniggsegg reportedly got hold of a group of "very wealthy people" to finance a Saab takeover, including Norwegian industry designer Bard Eker, one of Norway's richest individuals.
Saab Automobile, currently employing some 4,000 people at its factory in Trollhattan, filed for bankruptcy protection in February 2009.
The automaker, though highly popular among fans of turbocharged upper-class limousines, was never able to reach a critical mass to operate as an independent automaker.
The car company was hived off from the aeronautic and military equipment enterprise Saab AB in 2000 and acquired by General Motors.
In 2008, the company sold about 93,000 cars worldwide which were assembled mainly out of stock Opel parts and equipped with Saab turbo engines. About 11,000 convertible cars were built at car supplier Magna's contract manufacturing plant in Austria. In the UAE, Saab is imported by Gargash Motors.
However, if a takeover of Saab fails, Sweden's Trade Minister, Maud Olofsson, argued that it may be better for the company to change its business model and produce wind power turbines rather than cars in the future.
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