Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) could still be in the game for Saab, having secured a $2.93 billion line of credit from the Bank of China. On the other hand, BAIC could just be gearing up for its own home-grown expansion plans, with an eye on ramping up production and putting financial and technological legs underneath its partnerships with Mercedes and Hyundai.
Or… it could be doing both: trying to buy Saab and as well as remodel its business. The deal for Saab between GM and Koenigsegg was for about $1 billion: the European Investment Bank approved a loan for $615 million, and BAIC provided about $400 million by buying a minority stake in the Koenigsegg Group. If BAIC did its own deal with GM for that same amount — although we have a feeling they could get a Christmas discount — that would leave nearly $2 billion for BAIC to take care of Saab and invest in its own operations.
This is, of course, pure speculation — BAIC could have something else in mind entirely. All we know right now is that they’ve got a lotta yuan just sitting around waiting to be spent, and aborted plans to build the new 9-5 in China. This Saab story isn’t finished yet…
[Source: Reuters]