Chinese Bank May Come To Saab's Rescue
Saab’s sob story saga might be coming to an end, though the information surrounding their pending acquisition is murky at best.
Rumors swirled quickly around the media yesterday that the Bank of China, fourth-largest by market value had planned to acquire just under 50 percent of the company. Those reports are now being corrected— it’s a bank in China, but not the Bank of China. Regardless, this investment could be the savior Saab prayed for after GM flatly rejected their previous partnership with Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co.
Pang Da operates dealerships in China, while Youngman manufactures Chinese vehicles under the Lotus brand.
According to GM, that partnership would jeopardize their own interests in China because they supply both parts and the 9-4X crossover, which would then be unfairly accessible to the Chinese companies.
Saab hopes the new deal will keep GM satisfied while allowing them to finally be rid of their debt, which includes unpaid salaries and bills.
“The discussions include a short term solution to enable Saab Automobile to pay November wages and continue reorganization. The outcome of the discussions is still uncertain,” Saab said to Automotive News.
Saab parent company Swedish Automobile originally hoped for Pang Da and Youngman to take a combined 53.9 percent share of Swedish Automobile, but nothing in Saab. The two companies pushed instead for full ownership of Saab.
Gallery: Saab 9-4X
[Source: Automotive News]
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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