Swedish luxury sports car maker Koenigsegg will buy Saab Automobile from US giant General Motors (GM) with the backing of Norwegian investors, Swedish TV reported on Thursday.
The buyers have signed a letter of intent to buy Saab, SVT said on its Web site, citing anonymous sources naming Koenigsegg and adding that the negotiations could last for months.
DEAL
“We are getting close to a deal done, but there are some final steps to be taken,” a source close to the matter said, but would not confirm the identity of the leading bidder.
Both Saab and its parent company GM declined comment.
Saab was put up for sale by GM, which filed for bankruptcy after being brought to its knees by falling demand amid the world economic downturn.
Saab’s reorganization process began separately in Swedish courts in February.
LUXURY
Koenigsegg, set up in 1994, produces just 20 of its deluxe sports cars a year and sells each one for more than 1 million euros (US$1.4 million).
Saab’s sell-off drew a little closer on Thursday after Stockholm announced it had authorized the Swedish Debt Office, which acts as a public bank to the state, to discuss guaranteeing a 500 million euro loan made to Saab by the European Investment Bank.
“We have always said that the debt office could start negotiations on guaranteeing the loan when Saab has a new owner,” state secretary for business Joran Hagglund said in a statement. “With today’s decision we are well prepared for that.”
NO BAILOUT
Stockholm had refused to follow Washington’s lead in bailing out its automakers over fears it would end up in GM’s pockets.
Saab has not named its suitors but British daily the Financial Times had named Koenigsegg plus two other bidders, the US investment firms Renco and Merbanco.
Media reports had also said Italy’s Fiat was keen on buying Saab, but observers say such a move is now unlikely because of Fiat’s failure to acquire GM’s other European brand Opel.
Opel and its sister marque, Vauxhall, share a lot of technology with Saab.
DEFENSE
The Saab automaker — not to be confused with a Swedish defense company also called Saab — sold 93,000 cars worldwide last year, its Web site said.
It owes 9.7 billion kronor (US$1.3 billion) to GM — its largest individual creditor — as well as 347 million kronor to the Swedish government. Other creditors are owed 647 million kronor.
Saab, the automaker, employs about 3,400 people in Sweden. Including suppliers, 15,000 jobs in the country are believed to be at risk if the company were to disappear.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS