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  • #31
    Great article, thanx IVR007!
    Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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    • #32
      I'm excited about the idea behind Spyker buying Saab.

      Saab and Citroen were traditionally the innovative brands in Europe. Both have lost that status. The Spyker deal could bring Saab back from being a rebadged Opel/GM product back into a brand that dares to be different. I think that there would be a market for that.
      Rijk

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      • #33
        I guess I'm just not that smart, but I still don't understand why Koenigsegg backed out, if the deal was approved, and Spyker is using the same bid with the same approved financing. Koenigsegg must have seen something they didn't like?

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        • #34
          The deal failed..

          GM to Close Saab After Ending Sale Talks With Spyker (Update1)


          Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. said it can’t conclude the sale of its Saab Automobile division to Spyker Cars NV, and plans to wind down the money-losing Swedish brand.

          The companies encountered “certain issues” that couldn’t be resolved during talks on a sale, Detroit-based GM said today in an e-mailed statement. GM said it expects Saab to satisfy debts including supplier payments, and the unit will honor warranties and provide service and spare parts.

          GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre said Dec. 15 that Saab would be shut unless he had a sales accord by month’s end. Koenigsegg Group AB backed out of a Saab purchase agreement on Nov. 24, three weeks after GM reversed a plan to sell the European Opel unit and opted to keep it.

          “If you were a gambling man you would have bet this deal would not close because none of the other deals have closed,” said Mike Tyndall, an analyst with Nomura Securities in London.

          Spyker, a Dutch maker of $235,000 sports cars, emerged as the front-runner to buy Trollhaettan, Sweden-based Saab this month, people familiar with the matter have said. Spyker used Koenigsegg’s business plan in its bid, CEO Victor Muller said yesterday.

          Spyker fell 43 cents, or 20 percent, to 1.76 euros at 2:49 p.m. on the Amsterdam exchange.

          Whitacre told reporters in Detroit this week that Spyker was the last bidder for Saab, which traces its roots to aircraft company Svenska Aeroplan AB, founded in 1937 to secure production of Swedish warplanes. The first car left the factory a decade later.

          GM is shedding the Saab, Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac brands to focus on Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.

          To contact the reporters on this story: Katie Merx in Southfield, Michigan, at kmerx@bloomberg.netJeff Green in Southfield, Michigan at jgreen16@bloomberg.net


          What a shame for Saab, this will hit the Swedes hard
          The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do

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          • #35
            SPYKER AND GENERAL MOTORS END DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SAAB

            ZEEWOLDE, The Netherlands (18 December, 2009) – Spyker and General Motors ("GM") decided today that the intended sale of Saab Automobile AB will not be concluded. During the due diligence, certain issues arose that both parties believe cannot be resolved prior to the expiry of the deadline set by GM (i.e. 31 December 2009). As a result, GM will start an orderly wind-down of Saab operations.

            Victor Muller: “We sincerely regret that we are not able to complete this transaction with GM. We worked 24/7 for three weeks, but the complexity of the transaction in combination with the strict deadline simply did not allow us to complete the transaction timely. Our thoughts are with the wonderful management and employees of Saab in these challenging times".
            The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do

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            • #36
              I was never a Saab owner, and might never have purchased one of their products, but still this sucks.

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              • #37
                Looks like it's not over yet:

                Spyker bids again for Saab - Andrew Noakes - Motoring Journalist

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                • #38
                  Good luck, Victor and Spyker!
                  With Tenacity, No Roof Is Impossible

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                  • #39
                    "nulla...

                    Originally posted by OnTheLam View Post
                    Good luck, Victor and Spyker!
                    I guess with the Spyker motto (Latin inscription) and the name of the CEO (Виктор, منصور, 维克托, Gwythyr, Buadhach, אביגדור, Pirooz, Victor), that can only mean VICTORY !!!!!!

                    ... and if they don't want Saab anymore, it probably has a business reason...

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                    • #40
                      GM Gets Inquiries About Saab After Plan to Shut Unit (Update2)
                      David Welch and Ola Kinnander

                      Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. said it received inquiries from “several parties” regarding its Saab unit after announcing it would close the Swedish automaker following the collapse of talks to sell the division.

                      One approach was from Spyker Cars NV, which said it submitted a revised bid that will expire today at 5 p.m. in New York. Some asked about assets such as machinery, tooling or the factory at Trollhaettan, Sweden, where Saab is based, said a person familiar with the matter. The end of talks with Spyker last week led to Detroit-based GM’s decision to wind down Saab.

                      The fresh Spyker bid and the other inquiries may revive hopes that money-losing Saab can continue to produce cars. Some 3,500 jobs are at risk, along with thousands of jobs among suppliers to the automotive industry in Sweden. Two attempts to sell the 72-year-old brand have failed over the last month.

                      “It’s very hard to predict the outcome, particularly since GM in principle has taken a decision to shut Saab down,” Spyker Chief Executive Officer Victor Muller in a telephone interview today from Amsterdam. “There’s a dialogue ongoing. We’re trying to reach an agreement.”

                      Spyker rose as much as 59 cents, or 35 percent, to 2.30 euros and traded at 2.15 euros as of 12:52 p.m. in Amsterdam, valuing the carmaker at 46.2 million euros.

                      Johan Willems, a GM Europe spokesman, had no comment. GM said in a statement yesterday that the company “will evaluate each inquiry,” without identifying the parties that made them.

                      New Bid

                      “An 11-point proposal had been submitted to GM, addressing each of the issues that arose during the due diligence process,” Muller said in a statement yesterday. It removes “each of the obstacles that were standing in the way of a swift transaction.”

                      In its earlier offer, Spyker was bidding in a partnership with RMC Convers Group, a company owned by Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, who is the automaker’s largest shareholder with a 29.3 percent stake. Mubadala Development Co., a state- owned Abu Dhabi-based investment company, is also a stakeholder of the Dutch maker of $235,000 sports cars.

                      Spyker’s Russian ownership and financial backing was among GM’s concerns with its Saab bid, the person familiar with the situation said. It wasn’t a single issue that ended the talks, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations were private.

                      Other issues included intellectual property and the rights to Saab’s vehicle and engine technology, said the person.

                      Mubadala Development

                      Muller said today that Mubadala isn’t involved in financing the bid. He declined to say whether Antonov is still participating in the offer.

                      GM’s board decided last month to restructure its European Opel unit as a subsidiary, rather than selling a majority stake to Magna International Inc. and Russian lender OAO Sberbank. When Penske Automotive Group ended its bid in September for the U.S.-focused Saturn brand, GM opted to close it.

                      GM has agreed to sell its Hummer sport-utility vehicle brand to Chengdu, China-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.

                      The sale of Saab powertrain technology and tooling to Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. hasn’t been affected by negotiations with Spyker or by Saab’s winddown, GM said.

                      “Since we don’t know why Spyker’s first attempt failed, it’s very difficult to judge whether it will succeed this time,” Mike Tyndall, an analyst at Nomura Securities in London, said yesterday.

                      GM and Spyker decided there was “no point in carrying on” after encountering issues that couldn’t be resolved, GM Vice President John Smith said on a Dec. 18 conference call.

                      Spyker, Koenigsegg

                      GM started talks with Spyker after a sale to Koenigsegg Group failed last month. Koenigsegg canceled the purchase, saying delays in closing the acquisition “resulted in risks and uncertainties” that prevented it from implementing a new business plan. Saab was to become profitable by 2012 with annual sales of at least 100,000 cars, according to the September plan.

                      The European Investment Bank in August delayed a decision on whether to lend Saab 400 million euros ($573 million) to be used for the development of new technology, which it eventually granted Saab on Oct. 21. While the EIB approved the loan to Saab, the bank must re-evaluate the financing with any interested buyer as the new owner before it can be paid out.

                      The transaction with Spyker had to be concluded this month, GM said before the deal failed. Muller said today that Spyker’s revised bid still calls for the loan, although an approval from the EIB is no longer necessary by Dec. 31.

                      ‘Every Effort’

                      “We have made every effort to resolve the issues that were preventing the conclusion of this matter and we have asked GM and all other involved parties to seriously consider this offer,” Muller said. “We are very confident that our renewed offer will remove the impasse that was standing in the way of an agreement, and this would still allow us to conclude the deal prior to the expiry of the deadline originally set by GM.”

                      Spyker reported a net loss of 25 million euros last year, and Muller said Nov. 20 that the Zeewolde, Netherlands-based automaker won’t be profitable this year. Lack of cash led it to obtain loans in 2007 from Vilnius, Lithuania-based AB Bankas Snoras in return for a stake of almost 30 percent.

                      Sweden’s IF Metall union said GM must now “seriously evaluate” the new bid from Spyker.

                      “I understand the frustration that all people who are dependent on Saab feel -- to be thrown between hope and despair is terrible,” IF Metall head Stefan Loefven said. “GM must now quickly answer with a serious test of the new bid.”
                      The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do

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                      • #41
                        Victor Muller had a short interview with Swedish newspaper 'Svenska Dagbladet'. I made a quick translation for you guys.

                        We are in discussion with GM.
                        These are negotiations?
                        These are discussions.
                        What reaction have you got from GM until now?
                        Until now we only communicated by letter, but I'm going to a meeting with them right now.
                        Where is the meeting?
                        In Europe
                        What is your expectation? Is there a chance your bid will be accepted?
                        Yes, If I did not believe there is a chance our bidis accepted, there would be no point in meeting.
                        Your Deadline is 11.00 pm (swedish time). What reaction from GM do you want before that?
                        That's so many hours away. It's to early to say. If something changes we will publish a press release.
                        Can you clarify what happened in the owner-compositon of the bid?
                        No I can't. I have seen so many speculations, but it's not something I want to talk about.
                        (Svenska Dagbladet wrote earlier today that Antonov is no longer part of the Spyker bid)
                        Is it a consortium behind the Spyker bid or how whould you like to describe it?
                        I don't want to describe it, and I'm on my way to the meeting. Adieu.
                        The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do

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                        • #42
                          So the Convers group has probably been replaced by the other big Spyker shareholder: Mubadala (Abu Dhabi). This shows how big Victors commitment is!
                          This makes it very hard for GM to say Spyker wasn't the right buyer and go wind it down. Meanwhile a Swedish group, together with Merbanco, has made itself public as another bidder. They will only pursue if they can buy all of Saab..
                          The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Spyker Cars NV Chief Executive Officer Victor Muller said General Motors Co. has responded to the Dutch sports-car maker’s revised bid for the Saab unit, days after the U.S. carmaker said it will shutter the brand.

                            Saab would still seek a development loan from the European Investment Bank under the new offer, Muller, 50, said today in a telephone interview. The CEO declined to say whether Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, the chairman and biggest investor in the Zeewolde, Netherlands-based sports-car maker, still has a role in the new bid.

                            General Motors said yesterday that it received inquiries from “several parties” regarding Saab after announcing that it will close the Trollhaettan, Sweden-based unit following the collapse of talks with Spyker. It said today that yesterday’s offer has been extended beyond the initial deadline of 5 p.m. New York time.

                            “There’s a dialogue ongoing,” Muller said from his car while traveling in the Netherlands. “It’s very hard to predict the outcome, particularly since GM in principle has taken a decision to shut Saab down.”

                            Johan Willems, a GM Europe spokesman, declined to comment.

                            Spyker rose 34 cents, or 20 percent, to 2.05 euros in Amsterdam for its steepest increase since Dec. 2, valuing the carmaker at 44 million euros ($63 million).

                            EIB Loan

                            The EIB approved a 400 million-euro loan on Oct. 21 for Saab to develop more fuel-efficient cars. GM was in talks at the time with Koenigsegg Group, the bidder that walked away from a purchase agreement on Nov. 24.

                            Spyker planned to contact the EIB today to inform the bank that its bid is still on, Muller said. The EIB has given no indication whether a new board decision is needed, he said. Spyker’s revised offer is no longer conditional upon the bank giving clearance by Dec. 31, the CEO said.

                            The Luxembourg-based bank will “analyze the new ownership picture again” should Saab seek to receive the loan approved in October, EIB Vice President Eva Srejber said today by phone. “For the moment, the ownership picture for Saab is not clear,” she said, declining to comment further.

                            The Dutch company’s initial bid for Saab was in partnership with Antonov’s RMC Convers Group. Spyker’s Russian ownership and financial backing were among GM’s concerns with its Saab bid, a person familiar with the situation has said. Other issues included intellectual property and the rights to Saab’s vehicle and engine technology, the person said.

                            Mubadala Role

                            Mubadala Development Co., Abu Dhabi’s state-owned investment firm, is Spyker’s second-biggest stakeholder and an investor since 2005. The company hasn’t been part of any talks on Saab, Muller said. “They’re a shareholder of Spyker and as such they are a passive participant,” he said.

                            Muller began his career in 1984 as a lawyer at Caron & Stevens, the Amsterdam office of Baker & McKenzie. In 1989, he became a member of the management team of offshore company Heerema in Leiden specializing in acquisitions. He later took part in a management buyout that made him president of Weismuller Holding BV, a IJmuiden, Netherlands-based harbor- towage and marine-salvage company.

                            A lover of classic cars, Muller has traveled around the world to show his own collection, which has included a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT and a 1928 Rolls Royce Phantom 1 Experimental Jarvis. In 1999, Muller and business partner Maarten de Bruijn registered the Spyker brand, which was originally founded by coach-building brothers Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker in 1898 and went bankrupt in 1925.

                            Formula One

                            Spyker, which built 43 vehicles last year and whose C8 Aileron nudges 300 kilometers (186 miles) an hour on the speedometer, reported a net loss of 25 million euros for 2008. Muller predicted on Nov. 20 that the luxury-car maker won’t be profitable this year.

                            A shortfall in production and the 2006 purchase of the money-losing Midland Formula One racing team led Spyker to negotiate a refinancing plan in 2007 and pledge its brand name to secure a bank loan.

                            Christer Karlsson, a professor at Copenhagen Business School, said he can’t see any synergies between Saab and Spyker. Saab’s sales may plunge to 30,000 cars this year from 93,000 in 2008, he said. European sales slumped 59 percent through 11 months and U.S. sales tumbled 61 percent in the period.

                            “We will not give up,” Muller said. “I don’t think GM is being done justice when people say they don’t want to sell. That is clearly not the case.”
                            The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do

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                            • #44
                              saabsunited.com
                              Swade: Anything you can say on the record that I can place on the site?

                              Victor Muller: Just that we are throwing everything that we have at it including the kitchen sink! And that we will not give up.
                              Vic
                              The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do

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                              • #45
                                Victor is a hero in Sweden !
                                click here

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