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Saab gets new $492M bid from Youngman

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4K views 18 replies 14 participants last post by  AE86 
#1 ·
Filed under: China, Europe, Saab, Earnings/Financials



Youngman has made another bid for bankrupt Saab, according to new reports. The Chinese automaker has offered to buy what's left of Saab for $470 million at current conversion rates. The news comes courtesy of Dagens Industri. The newspaper also indicates that's the absolute lowest the Swedish automaker's pledgees and real estate owners will accept to settle the company's impressive debt. The deal would also set aside an additional $1.47 billion to restart production at the mothballed Trollhattan facility. Other foreign automakers are also vying over Saab's remains, including India's Mahindra & Mahindra.

Pang Da, meanwhile, seems to have no interest in continuing to pursue Saab. The company paid out around $59 million for vehicles Saab was supposed to produce. That never happened, and now the Chinese company has had to undergo the unpleasant task of reporting that loss to its investors.

Saab reportedly owes around $1.9 billion at the moment, and its assets are valued at just $532 million.Saab gets new $492M bid from Youngman originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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#2 ·
I'm curious what Youngman would get at this point. As I recall, the 9-4 is dead and GM will not make any more (or sell the ability to make them), production in Sweden is shut down and I suspect would cost a small fortune to restart. The 9-3 is outdated and the 9-5 is a tough sell in a highly competitive market. The global dealer network is pretty much gone. Add to that, the brand image is virtually non-existent to the general buying public, and even if they are aware of the brand, the perception is probably negative.

So I guess I don't understand what they would gain from buying SAAB. Any ideas?
 
#8 ·
Youngman has been in the picture for some time now. Don't be surprised if they've already built a new 9-3 on the Phoenix platform (minus the 10% GM tech.) This was the partnership SWAN was banking on

So, they're buying an established (?) name in a market they want to get into, a plant that GM put $1 billion into, and an expandable platform to produce a few different model cars on. All for probably less overall cost than the planned partnership with SWAN
 
#13 ·
Saab tech is not old hat..its GM's control of Saab that crippled the company.
GM never wanted Saab to outsell the US GM brands which was why onstar etc wasn't initially available on Saabs vs the other Epsilon designs.
The new 9-5 is very impressive on the road and for me a nicer drivers car than Merc or BMW and come the winter the XWD system is a joy.

Saab designers have always had a slightly different perception of the market and that has always appealed to a certain sector of the market.

If they get up and running again they need the freedom from new owners to re-invent themselves in the same way they did with the 99....downside is that by using GM parts for the last 15 or so years it made some areas cheap to produce which allowed them to put time and money into a strong safety shell.

In the UK a 9-3 was seen as an expensive Vauxhall Vectra by many who hadn't driven them....the Saab was 1000% better in every area but sales so the 1st thing the new owners will have to do is win over the press.

fingers crossed that Saab return soon.
 
#16 ·
Psssssssssssssssst, go tell the "crew" over at SU that Alex of North Street has got the top bid in.

And they have a deal with Wright Radial Engine Company. :roll:

It will be a "push & pull" configuration say the inside sources.

Haldex? We don't need no stinking Haldex .. :cheesy:
 
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