SAAB is on the Brink – again

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SAAB’s money flow is moving in a negative direction. There are production halts because autoparts suppliers are not being paid. There is a real danger of Spyker, the Dutch automaker that owns SAAB Automotive, letting go of SAAB if more financing is not secured.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Chief Executive Victor Muller may get Russian investor and former Spyker shareholder Vladimir Antonov.” – – onlinewsj.com. Mr. Antonov used to have a stake in SAAB when General Motors owned them, but was removed from SAAB last year as a condition of the sale to Spyker.

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“The problems last year resulted in a cash outflow of €123 million from Spyker’s balance sheet, and the group had negative equity of €206.5 million, the annual report showed. Its current asset position is €544.9 million, comprising €290 million in inventory and €117.4 million in trade and receivables. The company had a reserve cash pile of €67.4 million and cash equivalents of €70.1 million.” – – onlinewsj.com

Mr. Antonov’s Converse Group could become a shareholder if the Swedish government approves the idea. He said publically that he was interested in being one of the owners. The Swedish government’s decision will be made public within the next few weeks.

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Spyker/SAAB is taking steps and paying off debts to get the production going again.

That’s a good thing, because we at TFLCar.com like the new SAAB 9-5 and foresee a future when SAAB regains its uniqueness. Read the TFLCar.com SAAB 9-5 review (HERE). That future now depends on the Swedish government and the immensely powerful Vladimir Antonov.

Whatever the decision, we will keep you posted.

Here’s something that would even make a dude like Vladimir Antonov smile!

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