GM - La vente de SAAB échoue
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:25 pm
autonews.com wrote:GM deal to sell Saab unravels as buyer Koenigsegg drops out
November 24, 2009 - 11:09 am ET
UPDATED: 11/24/09 11:37 a.m.
DETROIT -- Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg Group AB has terminated its agreement to buy the Saab brand from General Motors Co.
"We're obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase," GM CEO Fritz Henderson said today in a statement announcing Koenigsegg's decision. "Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week."
The Saab deal is the second of GM's planned U.S. brand sales to fall apart this year. GM also had an agreement to sell Saturn to Penske Automotive Group Inc. On Sept. 30, Penske pulled out of the deal because its proposed automaker partner, Renault SA, had decided it couldn't make enough money supplying Saturn with vehicles.
GM still has an agreement to sell Hummer to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Ltd. GM is also winding down Pontiac. That will leave it with four U.S. brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.
GM also had planned to sell a majority stake in its European Opel brand to a consortium led by Canadian supplier Magna International Inc., but the automaker decided earlier this month to keep Opel.
GM went through a 39-day bankruptcy earlier this year in which it eliminated debt in exchange for majority ownership by the U.S. government. The company has been eliminating brands as part of its efforts to right-size to achieve profitability amid a global slump in auto sales.
China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Ltd. said in September it would take a minority stake in Koenigsegg to resolve some of the tiny Swedish company's funding issues for the purchase of Saab.
The deal was due to be completed the end of October, but the sale process hit an obstacle when the Swedish government said it would have to wait for a decision on guaranteeing a 400 million euro ($600 million) loan granted earlier to Saab.
