Saab to resume output after bid deadline dropped - Business as usual
General Motors Co. has dropped a Dec. 31 deadline for bids for Saab, which will restart some production lines in January after a holiday period shutdown, Saab said today.
GM had given itself to the end of this month to consider bids for money-losing Saab while continuing a process to wind down the company, which has drawn interest from Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars and others.
"We are preparing the wind-down process. At the same time we are open to options, to bids that come in. Therefore the deadline has also been dropped," Saab spokesman Eric Geers said.
Saab will restart some production lines again in January for its new 9-5 model and cabrio, Geers said.
"We have the orders and we have to deliver them as usual. We also have the orders for the 9-3 and others. The factory has to continue again," Geers said.
GM was still in talks with potential bidders for its Swedish unit but Geers only named Spyker Cars and declined to talk about other parties.
Merbanco Inc., a Wyoming-based group, has been named in the media as another Saab bidder.
Spyker wants Saab dealers
Loss-making Spyker has been keen to buy Saab to benefit from its technical resources and its distribution network.
Spyker, backed by Russian and Arabic investors, lodged a renewed fast-track offer to buy Saab on Dec. 20.
The surprise new offer from Spyker -- which made 43 luxury cars last year against Saab's sales of 93,295 -- came just two days after talks with GM over a rescue of the loss-making Swedish manufacturer collapsed.
Spyker Cars CEO Victor Muller has said if a deal is achieved, Saab and Spyker Cars would operate as sister companies where Spyker could benefit from Saab's technical resources and its distribution network, while Spyker would bring entrepreneurial skills to Saab.
The Swedish government has said it would allot 542 million Swedish crowns ($75 million) to measures, mainly for education and job schemes, to help deal with the thousands of jobs set to disappear if Saab shuts down.
Abandoning the 60-year-old Swedish auto brand would eliminate 3,400 jobs in Sweden and hit 1,100 Saab dealers worldwide.
A spokesman for GM in Europe said he had no information on the Saab deadline being canceled and could not immediately comment.
Source: Saab to resume output after bid deadline dropped - Business as usual
GM had given itself to the end of this month to consider bids for money-losing Saab while continuing a process to wind down the company, which has drawn interest from Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars and others.
"We are preparing the wind-down process. At the same time we are open to options, to bids that come in. Therefore the deadline has also been dropped," Saab spokesman Eric Geers said.
Saab will restart some production lines again in January for its new 9-5 model and cabrio, Geers said.
"We have the orders and we have to deliver them as usual. We also have the orders for the 9-3 and others. The factory has to continue again," Geers said.
GM was still in talks with potential bidders for its Swedish unit but Geers only named Spyker Cars and declined to talk about other parties.
Merbanco Inc., a Wyoming-based group, has been named in the media as another Saab bidder.
Spyker wants Saab dealers
Loss-making Spyker has been keen to buy Saab to benefit from its technical resources and its distribution network.
Spyker, backed by Russian and Arabic investors, lodged a renewed fast-track offer to buy Saab on Dec. 20.
The surprise new offer from Spyker -- which made 43 luxury cars last year against Saab's sales of 93,295 -- came just two days after talks with GM over a rescue of the loss-making Swedish manufacturer collapsed.
Spyker Cars CEO Victor Muller has said if a deal is achieved, Saab and Spyker Cars would operate as sister companies where Spyker could benefit from Saab's technical resources and its distribution network, while Spyker would bring entrepreneurial skills to Saab.
The Swedish government has said it would allot 542 million Swedish crowns ($75 million) to measures, mainly for education and job schemes, to help deal with the thousands of jobs set to disappear if Saab shuts down.
Abandoning the 60-year-old Swedish auto brand would eliminate 3,400 jobs in Sweden and hit 1,100 Saab dealers worldwide.
A spokesman for GM in Europe said he had no information on the Saab deadline being canceled and could not immediately comment.
Source: Saab to resume output after bid deadline dropped - Business as usual
