Three groups have entered bids for General Motors’ insolvent Saab brand and one will be chosen by the end of this week, the Financial Times reported.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
According to sources close to the process, the three bidders are Swedish speciality sportscar maker Koenigsegg Automotive, Renco, a private holding that bought and turned round the maker of Humvee military vehicles, and a group of investors from the US state of Wyoming.
The FT said all three had been invited for talks this week. GM, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the US last week, would contribute assets and cash worth US$500m to finance Saab’s spin-off.
This would include production equipment for the new 9-5 model, plus cash currently in the brand’s account worth about $150m, the newspaper added.
The bidders are pledging some cash, plus contingent financing to pay GM back if they succeed in turning Saab around in what the FT understood was a “complex and unconventional” acquisition with the cash amounts pledged by the bidders smaller than the amount GM was contributing.
After the sale, Saab and GM would continue to share engines and technology.
