Saab is bankrupt, but could still be revived.
Saab, owned by Netherlands-based Swedish Automobile, officially declared bankruptcy on December 19th 2011 after months of deliberation as the company finally ran out of cash. Alas it was a very sad day for such an amazing automobile manufacturer that has produced some lovely cars in its time.
What was also easily predictable was that those parties that were interested were waiting for the Swedish-owned manufacturer to collapse before placing any bids. It makes sense right? Why pay $120 for that Boss shirt now when in a few weeks it could sell for $40 in the sales?
First up of the interested parties is Brightwell Holdings, a Turkish private-equity firm, said it plans to bid for bankrupt Swedish carmaker Saab Automobile.
"We will make a bid very shortly, there's no question," Zamier Ahmed, a board member of the Istanbul-based group, said.
Brightwell, which invests in energy, transport and technology, wants to buy all of the Trollhaettan-based carmaker and plans to keep production in Sweden, Ahmed said earlier this week.
Reuters has also reported another interested bidder, Chinese group Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile remains interested in Saab as well and is prepared to make an offer for the carmaker that would be worth several billion Swedish crowns.
An earlier attempt by Youngman to rescue Saab collapsed because of objections from General Motors Co. Much of the technology in Saab's cars is licensed from GM, which sold Saab in 2010.
As sad as this story is, could this be the stepping-stone for an even brighter future for Saab? I mean, no one (certainly no Brit) could ever have thought that either Aston Martin or Rolls Royce had a future when they officially became owned by foreigners, but look where they stand now. So who knows what Saab’s next chapter will entail, but if its new owners ever brought back that engine tone from the 900 Turbo from the late eighties, I know I would become a fan of theirs rather quickly!
Billy Lyon
MotoringTV online editor
