Saab postpones creditor meeting as talks with Chinese continue

Saab is still working with Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. to keep the company out of bankruptcy. But with no final deal in place, Saab has decided to delay a November 22 meeting with creditors until the automaker can obtain financing. Saab's parent company, Swedish Automobile, was scheduled to meet with its creditors to work out a plan to repay them, but without a resolution with the Chinese, it apparently didn't have much of a plan to share with them. Swedish Automobile has not said when it will reschedule the meeting for.

Dow Jones reports that Saab Automobile AB is trying to complete the deal so that it can pay off creditors and exit creditor protection status. Swedish law prohibits any company under creditor protection from borrowing money.

Without the deal with Pang Da and Zhejiang, Saab will most likely end up entering bankruptcy. The Chinese automakers had already agreed to pay 100 million euros ($135 million U.S.), but former Saab owner General Motors proclaimed that it wouldn't license technology under the same terms to Saab's new owners. Saab is reportedly scheduled to pay November wages for "a large portion" of its employees this coming week, adding to the urgency of the situation.