Saab says a deadline of tomorrow (15 November) for the memorandum of understanding between itself and the Chinese firms wanting to acquire 100% of the automaker could be extended.
“As long as the parties [who] signed the MoU are still in the picture, are still discussing, there is nothing that drastically needs to change,” a Saab spokeswoman in Sweden told just-auto.
“That was a date set back in July, it is just reasonable to have a due date for the next step, but there is nothing that necessarily will be dramatically different tomorrow. There is no mandatory force that is mandatory [for] that particular date. They can choose to extend it.
Saab is waiting for a response from General Motors to new information its sent on 11 November regarding its proposal to be completely taken over by Youngman and Pang Da.
GM appeared to douse hopes of a 100% acquisition of Saab by the Chinese, who wanted to split ownership of the Swedish automaker 60:40 between Youngman and Pang Da.
Saab declined to discuss what new information it had sent to GM, but the US manufacturer said it would not continue with existing technology licences or the supply of 9-4X vehicles if there was a change of control.
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By GlobalData“There are no details, that is between Saab and GM,” the Saab spokeswoman said. “There are a number of issues GM wanted clarification on. The ownership structure is exactly what is being discussed.
“Another proposal [following an initial suggestion of the Chinese taking 53.9%] was put forward right before the creditors meeting, which was [a] 100% sale where Youngman would have 60% and Pang Da 40% – that is what GM was reacting to. Since then they [GM] have received more background information.”
Saab salaries are due towards the end of November but the spokeswoman declined to reveal details of how they would be paid.
GM in the US was not immediately available for comment.