Spyker CEO, Victor Muller, says he has returned to “haunt” General Motors as the former Saab chief outlined further details of the Dutch company’s sensational US$3bn lawsuit against the Detroit operation.
Muller launched his extraordinary US$3bn claim against GM, railing the US manufacturer had interfered with a deal between Saab, Spyker and Chinese investor, Youngman, that would have allowed the Swedish company to remain solvent.
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“They thought they could get away with it,” Muller told just-auto from his home on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Majorca. “They thought Spyker would die and Saab – it was a very understandable thought.
“If Saab could go down, how could a small parent survive? Now we are back to haunt them.”
Muller maintains the US$3bn claim is based on “usual valuation methods” that would have been used had the deal with Youngman been “consummated” and that his attorneys agree the amount is fair.
Muller – a former lawyer – said he had secured the services of one of the “most outstanding” legal firms in the US to oppose the might of GM – although he remained coy about revealing the source of the mystery “third party” backing Spyker financially in its lawsuit.
“We worked on the claim for more than six months, with one of the most outstanding law firms in [Washington] DC,” said Muller.
Muller has taken on Patton Boggs in the US capital to handle the lawsuit, with the firm advertising itself as ‘working closely with Congress and regulatory agencies in Washington, litigating in courts across the country, and negotiating business transactions around the world.’
GM is sure to fight back with massive firepower of its own and has already responded to Spyker’s lawsuit, insisting the claim is “completely without merit” and dismissing the allegations as “baseless.”
Former European automotive supplier body CLEPA CEO, Lars Holmqvist, also told just-auto today (7 August) Youngman was equally mulling suing GM, insisting he had “information,” although there is no suggestion this could be linked to Spyker’s move.
“GM lawyers should look at this because we are coming to the courts,” said Muller.
“It is being heard in the Eastern District of Michigan. There is no walking away from this.”
The former CLEPA CEO added that, should the massive US$3bn prove successful, some recompense could flow back to Saab’s many suppliers which are collectively believed to be owed around EUR300m.
