Spyker and Saab logos
The last we heard, production at Saab’s plants back home in Sweden had come to a halt due to a lack of funds and fears that the automaker’s new parent, Spyker Cars, was also close to being bankrupt. In response, the CEO of Spyker, Victor Muller, set out on a quest to acquire desperately needed funding, managing to secure an investment from Russian Vladimir Antonov, as well as a tentative deal with little-known Chinese automaker Hawtai.
We’re sad to report that the deal with Hawtai has since been terminated, though talks are ongoing and involve additional parties. The small investment from Antonov is also said to be still in place.
The original deal between Spyker and Hawtai was for an injection of funds of approximately $216 million and the opportunity to produce a new model in China. It’s not clear why Hawtai wanted in on the floundering Saab business but it’s believed to be over a deal to sell some of Hawtai’s Chinese assembled cars through Saab’s global sales network.
According to a statement released by Spyker, Hawtai was not able to obtain all the necessary consents for the deal from other stakeholders concerned so the parties were forced to terminate the agreement with Saab and Spyker with immediate effect.
Victor Muller will now have to look for a new source of funding for Saab and has confirmed that he’s still in talks with Hawtai, as well as the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other parties.
We will keep you updated on the respective futures of Saab and its parent company Spyker so stay tuned.
[Spyker via Reuters]
