Sweden’s ministry of industry has welcomed news of Saab’s final sale to Dutch carmaker Spyker in a deal that should secure around 3,000 jobs at the Trollhattan plant.
The Swedish government was a key plank in the complex arrangement allowing Spyker to buy Saab, with its National Debt Office guaranteeing the European Investment Bank (EIB) loan of EUR400m (US$542m).
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“What we have done is give Spyker a loan guarantee and what we have said is we can only do that if they keep the jobs in Sweden,” a Swedish industry ministry spokesman told just-auto.
“They only got the guarantee because the jobs remain in Sweden.”
Spyker Cars has now formally inked the agreement to buy Saab from General Motors and is scheduled to pay the US automaker a final tranche of $24m in July bringing the total purchase to $74m.
And the industry ministry spokesman stressed the effects of the deal not just for Trollhattan, but also for Sweden’s significant parts businesses.
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By GlobalData“It [the deal] is important as we have a lot of component companies,” he said. “It is important for their future and of course we think this is a very important step for the car industry in Sweden.”
A statement from the Swedish ministry of industry noted the definitive agreement securing the loan guarantee between the Debt Office and Saab was inked yesterday (24 February). The ministry added the guarantees would also help strengthen vehicle research.
“It is very gratifying for our employees at Saab, to Trollhattan, Vastra Gotaland in Sweden that GM and Spyker Cars have now completed their deal,” said energy and energy minister Maud Olofsson.
“What remains is hard work to make Saab profitable [and] the commitment of employees, managers and prospective owners revealed during this process, will be crucial for Saab’s long-term opportunities to become a successful company.”
