Spyker-saab??

[IVR007]

Footage from mr. Muller's speech. Not so much about Saab, but still great to see!
Saab History » Spyker CEO, Victor Muller’s Video Presentation At NAIAS

- P2P in 2011
- "Racing on sunday selling on monday"

[IVR007]

Now Merbanco and Genii- Ecclestone both made a revised bid

[IVR007]

Merbanco is out

[Edwardo]

By Serena Saitto, Jeff Green and Ola Kinnander

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Dutch supercar maker Spyker Cars NV is the lone remaining bidder for General Motors Co.’s Saab Automobile unit, said two people close to the situation.

GM will probably decide whether to continue sale talks or liquidate Saab by Jan. 18, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public.

Saab is among four brands, along with Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer, that the Detroit-based automaker is unloading to focus on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac in the U.S. after its bankruptcy exit on July 10.

Spyker has offered GM $75 million in cash and $325 million in preferred shares in the new company that would emerge from the transaction, said two people. GM would also keep $100 million of Saab’s existing liquidity, said the people. The details of the bid may change, said two people.

GM is considering bids for Saab while “we continue to wind down the company,” Chris Preuss, a spokesman, said yesterday. He declined to comment on details of the bids, including how many were under consideration.

Other bidders for Saab have included Genii Capital, the private-equity firm that teamed up with Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone; a group headed by Jan Nygren, a former Swedish deputy prime minister; and a Wyoming-based investor group led by Merbanco Inc. President Chris Johnston.

Genii Trying

Genii expects to enter talks with GM next week, one of its partners said yesterday.

“There are uncertainties over the sale of Saab, but we remain committed in our attempt to buy,” Lars Carlstroem, the Swedish investor working with Genii, said in a telephone interview. “We are still very serious and ready to support Saab in the long term. We expect to enter fruitful talks early next week.”

GM would sell to Spyker only on the condition that Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, the chairman and biggest investor in the Zeewolde, Netherlands-based sports-car maker, exit the company, said one of the people. The other outstanding issue GM is evaluating is whether Saab has a future as stand-alone company with sales volume of about 100,000 vehicles a year, the person said.

Saab Chief Executive Officer Jan-Aake Jonsson handed over power to liquidators on Jan. 12 and the board was disbanded. The Swedish Companies Registration Office named GM nominees AlixPartners LLP Managing Director Stephen Taylor and Peter Toerngren of Swedish law firm Toerngren Magnell, to supervise the wind-down.

Swedish sports-car maker Koenigsegg Group AB, backed by Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., walked away from a deal to buy Saab in November.

Beijing Auto later paid $200 million to buy some automotive technology from Saab to use in its own vehicles.

[Edwardo]

'Alleen Spyker nog kandidaat voor Saab'

Het Nederlandse Spyker blijft als enige kandidaat over om de noodlijdende autobouwer Saab over te nemen.
(tijd) - Dat is te horen bij bronnen dicht bij het dossier, signaleert het persagentschap Reuters. Saab-moeder General Motors zou maandag beslissen of het de gesprekken over een overname doorzet of start met de procedure om Saab op te doeken.

Spyker heeft GM 75 miljoen dollar in cash geboden en 325 miljoen dollar preferente aandelen in het autobedrijf dat na de deal zou opgericht worden. GM zou ook 100 miljoen dollar houden uit de kas van Saab. De details van het bod kunnen evenwel nog wijzigen.

Eerder vielen Genii Capital, de private equitygroep die samen met Formule 1-tycoon Bernie Ecclestone zou bieden, en een groep rond de Zweedse politicus Jan Nygren af. Ook een Amerikaanse groep investeerders onder leiding van Merbanco haakte af.

Saab is een van de vier merken die General Motors wil afstoten om zich meer te kunnen focussen op Chevrolet, Buick, GMC en Cadillac.




11:07 - 16/01/2010 Copyright © De Tijd

[IVR007]

Interesting times!!

[F Spider]

Fox news seven hours ago:

GM May Sell Saab for $1
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
PrintShareThis
Amid rumors that Swedish car maker Saab could be sold for a nominal $1, Swedish businessman Lars Carlstrom told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday that his consortium will submit a revised offer for the company.

For the bid to be successful, Carlstrom's consortium, which includes Luxembourg-based investment firm Genii Capital and Formula One motor racing entrepreneur Bernie Ecclestone, will have to convince Saab's parent company General Motors (GM) that it has a sustainable long-term business plan for the brand.

"We will submit a clarification, regarding liquidity, cash, and other things," Carlstrom said Wednesday, adding "we're working on it."

Dutch luxury car maker Spyker Cars is also bidding for Saab.

"We are trying to reach agreement with GM on several outstanding issues," Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday, adding he expects a final answer from GM by the end of this week.

Meanwhile Nick Reilly, GM Europe President, said Tuesday that although the American car maker had begun the process of winding down Saab, it was still talking to "at least a couple of potential buyers," including Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One boss.

Speaking at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Reilly said GM were looking at "what they can make out of (Carlstrom's bid) ... They are not going to do anything unless they think they can make money."

If GM decided to wind down Saab, it would cost between $72.5 million and nd $145 million.

Reilly said if no buyer for Saab could be found, all the technology for its new 9.5 model, which was ready for production before GM decided to sell the brand as part of its restructuring, could be scrapped.

- Dow Jones Newswires and The Times of London contributed to this report.

[IVR007]

source: bloomberg

GM, Spyker Said to Meet in Stockholm as Saab Sale Accord Nears


Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. and Spyker Cars NV officials met in Stockholm today to review a potential sale of GM’s Saab unit as the parties near an agreement, according to two people familiar with the matter.

GM considers Spyker’s $500 million offer of cash and preferred shares in the new Saab to be adequate, while the companies negotiate terms including those related to production plans, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. A deal may still fall through, they said.

An agreement, which may be announced as early as next week, hinges on the Swedish government agreeing to guarantee a 400 million-euro ($566 million) loan from the European Investment Bank for the Swedish carmaker, said the people. GM also insists that Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, the chairman and biggest investor in the Zeewolde, Netherlands-based sports-car maker, exit the company, said one of the people.

Saab is among four brands, along with Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer, that the Detroit-based automaker is unloading to focus on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac in the U.S. after its bankruptcy exit on July 10. Saab’s main factory in Trollhaettan in southwestern Sweden employs about 3,500 workers.

Spyker, led by Chief Executive Officer Victor Muller, has offered GM about $75 million in cash and $325 million in preferred shares in the company that would emerge from the transaction, people familiar with the matter said last week. GM would get $100 million of Saab’s existing liquidity, they have said.

Tom Wilkinson, a GM spokesman, declined to comment on the negotiations. Mike Stainton, a Spyker spokesman, declined to comment and said Antonov couldn’t be reached.

Genii Concedes

Other bidders included Genii Capital, the private-equity firm that teamed up with Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone; a group headed by former Swedish deputy Prime Minister Jan Nygren; and a Wyoming-based group led by Merbanco Inc. President Chris Johnston.

“We have worked hard, unfortunately time was not on our side,” Lars Carlstroem, the Swedish investor working with Genii, said in a phone interview today. “We are pleased to hear about Victor and his attempt to buy Saab. He’ll be a perfect owner for Saab going into the future. Genii is on hold until an official GM statement is released.”

Swedish sports-car maker Koenigsegg Group AB, backed by Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., walked away from a deal to buy Saab in November. Beijing Auto later paid $200 million to buy some car technology from Saab to use in its own vehicles.

[Edwardo]

Is it possible for Spyker without Antonov ?
Fingers crossed !

[Edwardo]

GM closes in on sale of Saab to Spyker
By Andrew Ward in Stockholm and John Reed in London
Published: January 24 2010 15:30 | Last updated: January 24 2010 15:30
Saab Automobile is set to win a stay of execution from General Motors as the US carmaker closes in on a deal to sell its Swedish unit to Spyker Cars of the Netherlands.

Several people close to the negotiations said a provisional agreement could come as soon as Monday, bringing a halt to preparations by GM to close one of Sweden’s most iconic brands.

A deal would spark relief among the company’s 3,400-strong workforce in south-west Sweden and thousands of Saab enthusiasts around the world, who had campaigned to save a carmaker known for its quirky design and innovative technology.

It would also mark a step forward in GM’s efforts to off-load non-core brands and would thrust Spyker, a niche maker of luxury sports cars, into the mainstream car industry.

But there would be disappointment for Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One racing mogul, who teamed up with Genii Capital, the Luxembourg-based private equity company, to challenge Spyker for Saab.

A spokesman for the Genii consortium said it was still interested in Saab but acknowledged Spyker was favourite.

Spyker, whose roots go back to 1875 as the former coach builder for the Dutch royal family, has been negotiating with GM since the collapse of an earlier deal to sell Saab to Koenigsegg Automotive, a Swedish sports car maker, in November.

GM, which put Saab up for sale a year ago along with other loss-making units such as Saturn and Hummer, had signalled increasing pessimism over the prospects of a deal and appointed wind-down supervisors this month in readiness for closure.

But Victor Muller, Sypker’s chief executive, continued to push for an agreement, with support from the Swedish government, which has offered loan guarantees to help any buyer rescue Saab.

People involved in negotiations said the two sides had moved within reach of a deal, with an announcement tentatively scheduled for Monday, but cautioned there were still details to finalise and that delays or even a breakdown were still possible.

GM would receive some payment for the assets, possibly including shares in the new Saab-Spyker entity, they said, but the biggest stumbling block has always been the need for a buyer to prove its financial means to keep the company afloat.

Spyker, part-owned by the Convers financial group, which is controlled by Vladimir Antonov, a Russian tycoon, has apparently convinced GM that funding is in place, although the deal is still likely to hinge on successful completion of €400m ($565m) loan pledged by the European Investment Bank.

GM and Spyker could move quickly to conclude a final deal, people close to the situation said, as much legal and contract work had already been completed for the abortive sale to Koenigsegg.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

[SpykerOwner]

Thanks for this update. Really exciting.

[F Spider]

This report skyrocketed the stock value. Up 30%

[IVR007]

This report skyrocketed the stock value. Up 30%

Saw the same thing, nice to see!

[F Spider]

Up 70% now.

[IVR007]

SPYKER CARS N.V.: REACTION ON PRESS SPECULATION ABOUT SAAB

Zeewolde, the Netherlands, 25 January 2010 - Spyker Cars N.V., manufacturer of exclusive premium sports cars, has noted recent press speculation about the SAAB negotiations. Spyker confirms that talks are ongoing, the outcome of which is still uncertain. As SAAB is currently in liquidation talks must end soon.