Done

Good luck to Saab and the new owner

SAAB SPYKER press conference, 2010-01-20 08:40 pm

http://www.tv4play.se/nyheter/nyhetskanalen?videoId=1.1471080

Official press release by GM

http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/news/news_detail.brand_gm.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2010/Jan/0126_saab

DETROIT – General Motors and Spyker Cars NV today confirmed that they have reached a binding agreement on the purchase of Saab Automobile AB.

"Today’s announcement is great news for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, great news for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide, and great news for GM,” said John Smith, GM vice president for corporate planning and alliances.

“General Motors, Spyker Cars, and the Swedish government worked very hard and creatively for a deal that would secure a sustainable future for this unique and iconic brand, and we're all happy for the positive outcome,” Smith said.

As part of the agreement, Spyker intends to form a new company, Saab Spyker Automobiles, which will carry the Saab brand forward. The sale will be subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory, governmental and court approvals. Other terms and conditions specific to the sale will be disclosed in due time.

The Swedish government is at present reviewing the transaction and the related request for guarantees of a Saab Automobile loan that has been requested from the European Investment Bank. Assuming quick action, the transaction is expected to close in mid-February, and previously announced wind down activities at Saab will be immediately suspended, pending the close of the transaction.

“Throughout the negotiations, GM has always had the hope to find a solution for Saab that would avoid a wind down of the brand,” added Nick Reilly, president, GM Europe. “We’ve worked with many parties over the past year, including governments and investors, and I’m very pleased that we could come to such a good conclusion, one that preserves jobs in Sweden and elsewhere. GM will continue to support Saab and Spyker on their way forward.”

SAAB RESCUED. MISSION COMPLETE.

As recently reported on Bloomberg.com, today will be the happiest day in the life of all the Saab drivers and enthusiasts.

Today (Tuesday) General Motors Co. agreed to sell its Saab unit to Spyker Cars NV

LINK to Bloomberg.com: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aFn8NdGVhOuk&pos=4

The future of the traditional swedish car brand is secured, Saab will take off again.

Together with about 20,000 Saab Rescuers we are looking forward to the new Saab models and many thousands of turbocharged kilometers.

We thank all the Saab community who remained loyal to Saab during the last year. It was amazing to see how many people stand behind Saab. Thanks to the thounsands of Saab Rescuers, thank you Swade from saabsunited.com, thanks to all the Saab Convoys around the world.

Press conference at 7:30 pm in Sweden

Based on "The Swedish Wire" (http://www.swedishwire.com/business/2554-spyker-the-new-owner-of-saab) there will be a press conference at 7:30 pm this evening in Sweden. They state too: "US automaker General Motors has agreed to sell its Saab brand to Spyker, US television channel CNBC said Tuesday"

Reuters reports "Spyker close to announce deal"

"A person familiar with the negotiations" told "Spyker is close to concluding a deal for Saab". We expect news within the next few hours.

Trading of Spyker shares suspended

Today, at 1:45 pm, the dutch financial regulator says it has suspended trading in shares of luxury carmaker Spyker Cars NV in expectation of a press release. This is probably due Spyker and GM are in their final phase of negotiating the SAAB purchase.

THE TIME IS NOW: Sign up at iwontbuyfromgm.wordpress.com - every voice counts!

For all SAAB enthusiasts this is a memorable Christmas. A year of hopes and fears is ending. And we're still waiting for a good solution for our favorite car brand.

We all should support GM in making the right decisions for SAAB. If GM prevents a sale of SAAB – this would have serious consequences. Anyone who refuses to buy another GM vehicle in the future, if SAAB is closed down, should sign up here:

"I won't buy another car from GM if they kill SAAB."
http://iwontbuyfromgm.wordpress.com/

This site is initiated by our friend, the australian blogger Steven Wade

Every vote counts. Tell your friends, family, car clubs, ...
Everyone should do his utmost now. The decision will be made after Christmas. Then GM and the press should know.

An appeal

Hello from cold Germany and hot Australia.

Today is a very important day in the life of Saab. I know that it feels like Saab have been on their last breath for some time now, but there is hope remaining for our favourite car company.

Whilst General Motors stated that they would commence an orderly wind-down of Saab Automobile in January 2010, they also stated that a suitable offer from a suitable buyer would be looked at.

They have received just such an offer today.

General Motors have received a new offer from Spyker for the sale of Saab Automobile. Spyker have structured their new offer in such a way so as to remove all of the the complexities that made their initial offer difficult to close.

In short, if General Motors are serious about selling Saab, this is their time to act.

GM may also receive other viable offers for Saab in the coming days. I hope they feel compelled to seriously review them all. But for now, this is the one we've got.



How you can play a part:

We have one chance only to put across our point of view as Saab owners and enthusiasts. Saab have a business plan, new vehicles and an efficient factory to produce them. They have a passionate base of supporters and the right cars to win new customers to the brand.

The time is now.

The email address for Ed Whitacre, the Chairman and CEO of GM is

eewjr@gm.com

If you care about the future of Saab then I invite you to write a brief, polite and passionate message to Mr Whitacre, outlining why you think Saab should be sold, rather than closed.

I can't emphasise this enough: make your message passionate, but polite. A passionate message that clearly states a point of view will be read and considered. An angry message will only find its way into the trash.

Special Christmas!
The Rescue-Saab team
Michael Hesse
President

Thank you Steven Wade Australia / Radulf Jetter / xport communication

Spyker renews offer

Copied from http://www.saabsunited.com/2009/12/spyker-cars-renews-offer-for-saab-that-removes-last-hurdles.html

Following the announcement on Friday that the intended sales terms of Saab Automobile AB between Spyker and General Motors (GM) could not be finalized, the Spyker leadership has submitted a renewed offer in the hopes of securing a future for Saab, its employees and the brand - despite the announcement that the winding down of Saab would begin.

More could be found on saabsunited.com

Knock-out for Saab?

Dear Rescue-Saab-Community.

The news was horrible: Knock-out for SAAB. The only one thing that's true is the cancellation of Koenigsegg, others are speculations. Voices say GM will have a conference on tuesday next week. In this meeting SAAB is the top issue. We would like these 3 scenarios:

1. SAAB is abiding by GM
2. GM is looking for a new investor (by the way, another myth says Merbanco or BAIC)
3. The SAAB story is finished (but the insolvency with adjustments is also possible)

At the moment it's business as usual. Maybe we hear some news on tuesday.

But we still believe SAAB should and could be rescued - let's send another signal to Detroit, Trollhattan and the world. Mail us your picture to yourimage@rescue-saab.com, and we will build a huge mosaic image showing how many faces stand behind the idea.

We count on you, once again.

Regards, the Rescue-Saab team
Michael Hesse
President

Who's the most appropriate investor for Saab?

Saab is about to be taken over, who is in your opinion the most appropriate investor for Saab?

• Koenigsegg Automotiv
  
• Fiat
  
• Renco Group
  

Tell us your sympathie of your favourite company, in our poll untill sunday, 06/07/2009.


Poll: Who is in your opinion the most appropriate investor for saab? Link


Many thanks, Regards,

Your Rescue-Saab Team

In-Depth Look - Swedish Auto Shake-Up - Bloomberg

Saab resign 700 jobs in trollhättan

This is the result of a deal between union and management according to tv-channel TV4 Vast.

Saab Creditors Meeting - GREEN LIGHT!!!

Source: www.saabsunited.com
By Swade on April 6, 2009 8:24 PM

The meeting held in Vanersborg to fill Saab's creditors in as to their reconstruction progress and decide on their immediate future has come and gone - and apparently Saab have the green light to continue.

Whilst 1300 creditors were initially invited to attend, most had been paid and only a few dozen turned up. There was probably more media personnel in attendance, to be honest.

The creditors that turned up asked for a creditors committee to be formed. I don't know the exact purpose of such a group, but I imagine it will be to keep creditors informed as to Saab progress as they continue their reconstruction efforts.

By all accounts, it sounds as though the creditors in attendance were quite positive about Saab's future and willing to support their continued efforts.

Saab also lodged a reconstruction plan with the court and you can view it (in Swedish) here as a pdf file.

If any of you Swedes can summarise the document for us, it would be much appreciated.

One thing I was able to glean from it is some immediate production planning.

There's also a mention there of what looks like a 'breakeven' point at around 130,000 vehicles and a plan to sell around 150,000 vehicles by 2011. Remember, here, that Saab's best ever sales for a year happened just a couple of years ago, with around 135,000 vehicles being sold, so this plan is reasonably ambitious.

That first lot looks like it's production in Sweden and the second lot is vehicles that will be developed in Sweden.

It looks like the immediate future is concerned with the 9-3, 9-5 and 9-4x and the lack of a 9-1 in that planning might be disappointing to some, but existence is more important in this situation, I guess, and if the 9-3 is proposed to be smaller, then that might go a long way to satiating the desire for a throw-around Saab.

All in all, it's been a great morning in Sweden for news, then.

Here's to the future!!

------

UPDATE:

The latest summary from TTELA:

The reconstruction can continue

Vänersborgs District Court announced BY TWELVE time to Saab's reorganization will continue, but only until the May 20. A creditors' committee is appointed, and this included the representatives of the creditors are General Motors, IAC Sweden, Tax and a staff included.

The media interest was very high and reporters and photographers took up several rows from the floor in Vänersborgs kommunhus when the creditors' meeting took place during Monday morning. The representative of the creditors took up a handful of rows with ten seats on each. The massive influx of over 1 300 creditors did not happen.

President of the Court of Cecilia Tisell started to go through what is applicable to today's meeting. That creditors may request that a creditor committee is appointed. Creditors can also make a requirement that it be terminated, if they do not believe in the new reorganization plan.

When the creditors' meeting was closed after just one hours, none of the creditors' representatives demanded that the reconstruction would cease. In contrast, the number who felt that a creditors' committee should be formed.

The administrator Guy Lofalk explained that there are several stakeholders who want to invest in Saab. The next step is now a long presentation of the company for these stakeholders.

Saab introduced its timetable, which the company intends to request an extension on the construction of three months when the time expires May 20. Saab will also require negotiation chords which calls for creditors write down the debt by about 75 percent. Such thinking Saab to June 17.

GM has promised to write-down of debt, and that Saab will get access to the necessary tools to build the new cars.

Saab Jan Åke Jonsson's main argument for Saab to be alive is that there are several new models which in principle is clear. With them he thinks Saab before 2013 can reach volumes of 130 000 cars a year.

Marcus Nyman, CEO of IAC Sweden, a major subcontractor to the automotive industry, was one of the creditors who gave the reorganization continued its support. He believes in Saab's plan:

- That I have been able to see the operational and financial here today it is an extremely positive plan. With a new owner can take this further and create a profitable Saab and a profitable sub-clusters, "he says.

- Saab is an extremely important customer for IAC. We are dependent on their future employment and activities in Sweden. It is important for the region and the whole of Sweden that Saab is on the market.

- We support the further reconstruction to one hundred percent.

While he expressed concern about what happens to the tools to build the new models of General Motors's insolvency.

IAC, which has done away with many of the staff because of the current crisis, still has a claim on the Saab in the multi-millions as Marcus Nyman. Although GM has said that it paid the majority of providers who had claims on the Saab before reconstruction.

- We have not received the full amount from GM that was said from the beginning, "he says.

What do you think of that it looks as if GM treats subcontractors different?

- It may be GM answer. It can be an administrative error that has occurred. He understands the requirement of chords, but hope to avoid.

- We hope that GM solves the remaining claim. Otherwise, it will be difficult for us to take such a blow, "he says.

Newsletter#5, 2009-03-17

Dear Rescue Saab-Community,

In our last newsletter, we asked "How much is Saab worth to you?". Until now, 3.200 "Rescuers" participated in the survey. Currently, we have a sum of 4 Million Euro. Like we said, all of your answers are of course non-binding. We are waiting a few more days.

We concentrate altogether on the building of a serious association. Shortly, we meet a Swedish and a German economic chamber in Berlin. Some lawyers and Saab-dealers will be present, as well. We will talk with them about the first details of the new holding association.

Right now, we have some other good news: We are in contact with the Swedish & International investor group. This group submitted an offer to buy Saab from GM.

The challenge and the spirit by this investor group is the revival of
saab-soul: innovative and trendsetting automotive-technology, in a distinctive and typical design. Shortly, more information about this.

The new association Rescue Saab would have the chance to hold up 10 percent of the new Saab Automobile Company. That will be 150 million Euro.

Right now, we cooperate with the Saab-parts suppliers Elkparts.com and the Saab-Merchandise producers Saabexpressions.com. These two are expanding their business right now.

A friendly supporter, the company Mazonscreen.nl in the Netherlands, has produced 25,000 "Rescue Saab"-stickers for car-windows. We distribute the stickers to Saab-dealers on request.

The next step for the website www.rescue-saab.com is translating our information to Spanish. We are looking for a good translator. Who among you readers have the time and knowledge?

We are optimistic and we hope you are, too!

Regards,

Your Rescue-Saab Team

Vote for Saab 9.3x

You may use this link and support the new Saab 9.3x...

http://www.caranddriver.com/highlights/frontpage/poll/which_geneva_production_debut_do_you_want_in_your_garage

Thanks for supporting this. At the time of this post Saab is leading :)

Interview with CEO Jonsson

Source: FAZ

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones) - The bankrupt Swedish car manufacturer Saab continues to date despite contrary signals on state aid. The daughter of the financially ailing U.S. company General Motors' need to survive first half a billion euros, said the Saab board chairman Jan Ake Jonsson in an interview with the "Autogazette" on Thursday. The Swedish government had government support for Saab so far rejected.

"Currently we are in intensive talks with our government, as a part of the Saab 28 billion crowns assistance program of the state can get," Jonsson said in the interview. The signals from the government were "very, very positive. We were assured that the government talks with the European Investment Bank wants to lead, so we are lending a higher priority."

Saab but need a partner. Currently the group is in talks with five to six prospects, Jonsson said, without names. For those interested, it is both car manufacturers as well as financial investors.

General Motors Saab-paid debt

Source: KFZ-Betrieb

General Motors Saab-paid debt
Production should be secured

General Motors (GM) debt to its Swedish subsidiary Saab insolvent immediately settle and so the continuation of production. GM purchasing chief Bo Andersson announced on Monday in an interview with the Stockholm Economic newspaper "Dagens Industri" to that of the self struggling to survive his parent company 1.3 billion kroner (113 million euros) to transfer to suppliers. They include the Indian steel group Arcelor Mittal and ThyssenKrupp in Germany. In the previous week had the Saab production day for non-payment of debts to the customs interrupt.
The relatively small Swedish carmaker wants as well as the GM German subsidiary, Opel regardless of the previous parent company survive. After the application for creditor protection before one week, the production with 4,100 employees for the time being three months under the supervision of an insolvency administrator to continue. Saab is in the beginning this week in Geneva Motor Show its new model before the 9-3X.

Newsletter 2009-02-27

Dear Saab community,

Rescue-Saab.com is growing.

Within one week "Rescue Saab" won worldwide more than 11,000 people who signed to support our brand Saab.

This is an amazing achievement!

But in contrast to the quantity of all Saab drivers worldwide this is just only one percent.

Therefore we should continue with this ambitious initiative like we did in the first days.

We got daily a huge amount of E-mail with a lot of great suggestions and wishes for t-shirts, stickers and other merchandise articles. We furthermore try to answer all your E-mails but please be patient with us.

At this time it is not possible and also we don't want to offer merchandising products. It is too early - but we keep it in mind and let you know when we seriously think about it.

I would like to point out that we don't have to loos the sight of our goal: to bundle money for supporting Saab. Saab can and will only stay alive by investors.

We work further on our association concept and are connected to
lawyers, management consultants and economy experts.

Our main idea - to found an open associated company - is getting clearer. We are optimistic that we can finish, with help of some experts, an economic acceptable concept within the next 3 to 4 weeks. But some work is necessary to make sure that everything is legitimate and comprehensive.

Next week we try to arrange an appointment with Saab in Sweden for give them a presentation of our project.

Please stay tuned and inform all Saab Fans you know. Our dream is that 10 percent of all Saab drivers worldwide registering on rescue-saab.com.

For all Fans who have in mind a major investment, here is a new E-mail address for you:

investor@rescue-saab.com

Only our management board receives these mails.

Regards,

You're Rescue-Saab-Team

Michael Hesse
President