A Lithuanian bank linked to a possible investment in troubled Saab is keeping its cards close to its chest concerning any involvement.
Media speculation has centred on Vilnius-headquartered Bankas Snoras in which Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov is the main shareholder, as a possible investor. Previous reports have also indicated Antonov could potentially acquire up to 30% of Saab.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“We have seen the headlines that Snoras is kind of giving a credit to Saab,” a Bank Snoras spokesman in Vilnius told just-auto. “We do not comment on this news which appeared today.
“We can’t deny or confirm it. If such an agreement would be possible overall, we will go on with a press release. If there will be some concrete action concerning Snoras crediting Saab, we will for sure make a press release. It is not something official about this.”
Saab’s Trollhattan factory is continuing its production halt today (11 April), although its 3,800 workers are on site with some routine maintenance being carried out as the automaker’s largest union IF Metall told just-auto from Sweden.
“All our members are blue collar workers, so for us you can do some maintenance and some patch-up in the factory, but if the line is stopped, there is not much to do,” IF Metall research officer Aleksandar Zuza said.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData“It is tough, that is for sure, but hopefully they will solve it.”
Saab earlier confirmed it was in talks concerning possible sale and lease back of properties in Trollhattan, although this is subject to the approval of the Swedish National Debt Office.
Saab owner Spyker noted “further announcements will be made shortly” but it is unclear whether or not this will be later today.
