Turkish private equity company, Brightwell Holdings, says it is not interested in stripping Saab’s assets and intends to keep most of the automaker functioning in Sweden, should its bid for the bankrupt manufacturer succeed.
Brightwell is not naming any sum it could make for Saab but it appears the Turks – along with Chinese manufacturer Youngman – have emerged as one of two front-runners attempting to purchase the Swedish operation following its recent collapse.
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“Our intention…is essentially to keep Saab in Sweden,” Brightwell Holdings partner Zamier Ahmed told just-auto. “We are not pulling the entire supply chain out of Europe.
“We would certainly look at the supply chain very carefully and will look at how we can make cost savings. If these cost savings are in Turkey, so be it. The supply chain is something we understand very, very well.”
Ahmed added Brightwell’s Saab evaluation was now complete, noting he expected a report “on my desk in the next few days,” although the partner is also due to visit Detroit next week.
Any visit to Michigan could be extremely apt, as Youngman’s previous bid for Saab foundered against massive technology licence opposition from General Motors, but European automotive supply body CLEPA yesterday (19 January) told just-auto the Chinese could now look at 9-3 and Phoenix architecture as a way forward.
“We are talking to them [GM] at the moment – we have cordial relations, said Ahmed. “We are not going to start grinding axes. It would be great if we could continue the relationship with GM.
“The GM platforms are very highly developed – ideally it would be great to continue with the existing platform. If we start developing a new platform, that might take quite some time before new product could come to market.”
Reports from Sweden indicate a job fair in Trollhattan yesterday attracted large numbers as the State salary guarantee for Saab’s almost-4,000 workers only has around one month more to run.
Some 300 staff have already used up their SEK171,000 (US$25,000) allowance with skilled engineers now looking for work, but Ahmed was at pains to point out a long-term future for Saab.
“We would prefer to keep the engineering staff on board. We are interested in the whole of Saab, we are not interested in stripping the company,” he said.
“We understand the assets and and sensitivities with Sweden. The problem with Saab was not engineering or product, but it was a pure case of underfunding.”
