General Motors said it has reached an agreement to sell Swedish car brand Saab to Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker Cars NV. The American company will receive $74 million in cash, paid in two installments, and $326 million in preferred shares of Saab, GM alliance chief John Smith told Associated Press. Spyker will also guarantee up to $10 million in Saab debts owed to GM’s main financing company, GMAC Financial Services.
The AP report also states that a loan of up to 4 billion kronor ($550 million) from the European Investment Bank, backed by the Swedish government and subject to approval by the European Commission is the source of Spyker’s funds. There’s also “Back-up financing” in the form of a 150 million-euro loan ($212 million) from investment firm GEM Global Yield Fund Ltd.
Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.
kesian saab
Damn!! Proton shud ditch Lotus and buy Saab now… Jet technology oohhh..
finally…gm sucks
Yeah!! Now when I'm rich enough, I can buy a Saab!!
there's light at the end of a very, very long tunnel created by GM.
please let this be a splendid rebirth of a quirky, but beloved marque!
So much loan taken by such a small company, spyker are kicking their own ass.
kudos to victor muller of spyker. now, to take saab to a more competitive level. those who do not know or understand the brand may wonder about the fuss that the saab fans are kicking up but those who have the saab brand close to them know that this is one small brand that tries to make a difference in offering individualistic products. not everybody will love the design but the brand thrives on technology and those who know of saab's technology will heave a sigh of relief that the brand is saved and will be able to once again push the technological envelope further than in the past.
i don't know why, but i was hoping saab to die….oh well, good for them that spyker salvaged them, hopefully they come back and bite the previous owner's ass.
first of all…rebuild the saab sonnet
Saab divinely belongs to the Europeans
to those who thinks jet tech of saab is transferred to its car… maybe they have to re-think…
because, as comparison, eventhough suzuki makes superbike, but why its cubs doesnt have the super DNA?
nah, the jet tech was just for marketing purposes. maybe when they started, there was jet tech but that too was in the aerodynamics. even the bmw 5 seried featured head up display before saab thought of it.
what they are more well known for is being one of the earliest to use turbocharging in mass produced cars.turbochargind their cars has been their strength for many years. they also have many innovations and world 'firsts'. you can check it out at saab.com.
anyway, with gm drying up funds for saab over the years and extracting their tech, saab was left with very little funds for new development. hopefully with spyker in the scene, they can fly again.
now saab can make that aero-x
saab shud make good affordable car now