And Then There Were Two: GM reportedly whittles down to a pair of Saab suitors
When General Motors first put Swedish automaker Saab on the auction block, it was reported that there were nearly 20 interested parties. From there, rumors quickly began circulating that Saab and parent-company General Motors had narrowed down the potential list of bidders first to a half-dozen, and more recently, to just three final suitors. One of those interested parties was reportedly Italian automaker Fiat, but that rumor has since been denied by both Fiat and Saab.
If local Swedish newspapers are to be believed, final negotiations with the remaining two parties are at hand. The two rival bidders are thought to be fellow Swedish automaker Koenigsegg and Renco Group, an investment group based here in the United States. Speaking in an interview with Swedish daily Dagens Industri, Saab chief executive Jan-Ake Jonsson said:
"Now we are negotiating with just two parties. This can go fast now and should absolutely be wrapped up in a maximum of two weeks."Here's hoping that a suitable buyer emerges from the final two potential suitors in short order – the last thing GM needs at the moment is a protracted sale of its Swedish former subsidiary.
[Source: Reuters]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Hike15 6:37PM (6/03/2009)
I hope whoever buys saab can bring the saab quirky back
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Sandeep 6:37PM (6/03/2009)
Why would an investment group still be interested in an automaker, after seeing how horrendously Cerberus bungled Chrysler?
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Jared 9:30PM (6/03/2009)
Because 1) they don't know any better and 2) like many finance guys they are supremely arrogant. They'll learn soon, like Cerberus, just how little they know about building cars.
JZeke 6:46PM (6/03/2009)
I hope Konigsegg gets it, that guy has the vision to bring performance and unique engineering back to Saab. The Quant concept would make a great 9-9x (or something suitably top-of-the-range).
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Taglane 6:49PM (6/03/2009)
+1. I need to see an Aero X or my life means nothing.
Fox 10:31PM (6/03/2009)
+2, it would be great for Saab...
Alex 10:14AM (6/04/2009)
+3
Brother_Will 6:54PM (6/03/2009)
Heres hoping for a saab back in the hands of the quirky swedes.
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Mike 6:56PM (6/03/2009)
Let's go Koenigsegg!!
I hope the quirky sports car can pull this purchase off.
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Joel 7:17PM (6/03/2009)
Saab is in excellent hands now, either way
If Renco buys, Saab is in the hands of a Billion-Dollar company. No shortage of investments there
If Koeniggsegg buys, then they'll have the best design and marketing of any automaker, and awesome products. May have to cut workers, but it'll work out in the end
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RITmusic2k 7:24PM (6/03/2009)
Ira Rennart has this reputation for gutting and flipping companies, though... there's a frightening, if unlikely, possibility that he could buy Saab just to make a buck off its destruction.
Christian von Koenigsegg, on the other hand, is both a purist and an idealist in the automotive world; I think his passion and dedication would be protection enough from that fate. Koenigsegg and Saab would be an ideal pairing as long as the investors can come up with the required funds (Koenigsegg can't buy them without the help of other contributors).
Judy Zik 10:47PM (6/03/2009)
Yeah because Cerberus worked out so well for Chrysler. The money guys have money because they don't actually believe in spending it. They would likely starve the brand for a short term and then flip it for more money when things rebound. I would not expect them to actually invest much of anything in Saab.
I really hope GM sells it back to the Swedes.
inline6 7:55PM (6/03/2009)
The thing that concerns me about Koenigsegg is that it can't - at present - be well-funded enough to make cars on a volume basis.
Then again, with Saab in Koenigsegg's hands, perhaps the company will attract more high-dollar investors, since the company won't just be about incredibly expensive supercars, but will be better diversified.
To Saab: Pick Koenigsegg.
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Zakspeed 9:00PM (6/03/2009)
Wow i totally forgot about Saab.
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Dave 10:57PM (6/03/2009)
I don't blame you.
Jeff 10:56PM (6/03/2009)
ugh. you guys need to stop reposting reuters articles and just pay attention to what swade has to say about this whole matter on saabsunited.com
apparently there are now 3 bidders, not two, as Jan-Ake Jonsson said, one was interested in coming back to the process. then in TTELA, Eric Geer is quoted...
"Saab's two final candidates have been three. This is then a stakeholder, previously screened away, come back with a better offer.
- They try to come into the picture again, "says Saab informationschef Eric Geer, and confirms that the two final candidates now been joined by a third."
The possibility of them entertaining another party at this late a stage implies they have a certain strength to their offer, which definitely raises the stakes.
So ya, it's really disheartening to see stories like this posted on here which aren't complete. Makes me wonder just how deep your digging on the rest of your stories :-/
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bornfromjets03 2:42AM (6/04/2009)
+1
I'd still vote konigsegg
jimmy_ngai 12:29AM (6/04/2009)
i like saab, i hope someone would save it from GM soon.
it would be really interesting to see what kind of product if Koenigsegg buys it...
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ice_berge_12 1:28AM (6/04/2009)
Here hopes that koooenigseeeeeggggg!!!!!! gets SAAB. With the big K's uniqueness already in the supercar market it would be easy for them to help SAAB gets it's identity and wierdness back. I like SAAB and only a fellow Swede should own it!
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Avinash machado 6:17AM (6/04/2009)
Would be great if Saab returns to Swedish ownership.
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