The dramatic Saab roller-coaster continues to painfully drag on with good and bad news for the brand. But let’s take it in chronologically order.
This morning, Saab’s parent company Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) said it has accepted new funding from U.S. private-equity group North Street Capital, which is interested in Spyker.
The equity firm is paying US$10 million for 2.39 million new shares Swan while also providing a further US$60 million as a loan that will be “collateralized by a first lien on certain assets of Saab Automobile as well as a second lien on the collateral as pledged to NDO”.
In the same announcement, Swan said it accepted the loan because the company “has doubts that the bridge funding of Youngman and Pang Da, of which a partial payment has been received, shall be paid in full on 22 October 2011”.
Part three of today’s Saab announcements is far more worrying as the administrator that handled the company’s reorganization, Mr. Guy Lofalk, will apply for termination of the voluntary reorganization of Saab and two subsidiaries at the Swedish court in Vänersborg.
However, the Swedish automaker said in a statement that it will challenge the move:
“Saab Automobile shall contest this application and request for continuation of the voluntary reorganization process. Simultaneously, Saab Automobile shall apply at the court for replacement of Mr. Lofalk as administrator.”
