Stockholm News - Saab Automobile is in a deep crisis. Since a couple of months, its subcontractors cancelled the deliveries. Saab had not paid them at all for some time but after a while they had enough. So since late March, the productions stands still.
The solution was soon proposed that the Russian business man Vladimir Antonov would buy some of Saab Automobile's factories. This would release capital enough for the factory to start building cars again. After some hesitations, the Swedish National Debt Office has accepted this deal but the European Investment Bank (EIB) changes their demands.
The Swedish spokesman of Antonov, says to Sveriges Radio that the EIB demands are not reasonable. In order for EIB to accept Antonov's purchase of the Saab manufactories, the EIB demands that the remaining loan must be amortised in a quicker pase than the original plan:
The conditions put out by the EIB are completely unreasonable for Saab (Automobile (author's remark)) to live up to. This would mean that we could not continue with having the loan at EIB under these premises, says Antonov's Swedish spokesman Lars Carlström to Sveriges Radio.
"A very difficult situation for Saab"
The analyst Jonas Fröberg from Svenska Dagbladet is pessimistic about Saab Automobile's situation as it is today. Fröberg writes in Svenska Dagbladet as follows:
"If it is really true that Saab's EIB loans must be finished and amortised in 90 days, this is a very difficult situation for Saab. The company has until today borrowed 217 million euro from EIB and ironically Saab wants nothing more than get rid of the EIB-loan, but to borrow so much money elsewhere in so short notice will be difficult. The new deal also means in practice that the EIB and the Swedish governemnt must accept Antonov as new owner so even if Antonov is prepared to go in with 50 million euro, it is not enough".
Saab Automobile is now in a very fragile stage. Fröberg continues that the company will be bankrupt soon if the car productions cannot start soon. The tough demands from EIB is therefore a bit strange according to Fröberg.
The first step for Saab Automobile's plan to recover is to solve the liquidity crisis on the short-term and this is done by lowering the EIB loan from 400 million euro to 280 million. This would ease the transaction where Saab sells its factories to Antonov. The second more long-term step is to make Antonov a new owner of Saab Automobile. This must however (as mentioned) first be accepted by the Swedish government, the Swedish National Debt Office, General Motors and by EIB. Each of the four has veto right.
Saab is now also negotiating with Chinese car manufacturerers in order to find alternative solutions.
