Spyker Cars NV and Saab president Victor Muller is pulling all the strings to kick start the Swedish automaker back into life after the company hit a cash crunch and was forced to halt production last month as suppliers refused to send parts citing lack of payment.
After an earlier announcement on the involvement of Russian banker Vladimir Antonov, who plans to invest €30 million in Saab’s parent company Spyker in return for a 29.9 percent stake, Muller hit twice today revealing that the company has secured a €30 million convertible loan from Gemini Investment Fund Ltd, while also announcing a new partnership with China’s relatively unknown, Hawtai Motor Group.
“I would like to apologize to our dedicated employees, suppliers, dealers and customers for the disruptions of the past weeks,” said Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker and Chairman of Saab Automobile in a press statement. “We will do everything in our power to restore the confidence in our company as soon as practically possible.”
According to the company, the short-term funding from Gemini matures in six months with an interest rate of 7% per year, and is convertible to stock at €4.88 per share. Along with the €30 million from Gemini, Saab said it will also make a drawdown request to the European Investment Bank (EIB) for €29.1 million, which will bring the total funds secured to €59.1 million.
“With the receipt of these funds, Saab Automobile secured the liquidity that is required to restart production,” the company said.
As for Saab’s new “strategic partnership” with China’s Hawtai Motor Group, we’ll have to wait until the official press conference that will take place at 14:30 Beijing time (08:30 CET), for further details.
