The following is a transcript from TTELA, the local newspaper in Trollhattan.
As you might expect, stories about Saab are filling the tops spots on their website right now.
This is one of them.
——
Long-term and Swedish
Christian von Koenigsegg on intentions with the purchase of Saab
ÄNGELHOLM
A Long Term Swedish car company. This is the intention behind Koenigsegg’s purchase of Saab. So says Christian von Koenigsegg to media today.
At the same time he points out that it is a financially strong consortium behind the deal and not just Koenigsegg.
- It became clear during the spring that Saab has great concern,” said Christian von Koenigsegg, when TT today met him in the production and exhibition hall at the factory outside Ängelholm.
- Within our group and the network to which I belong, we started to think about the issue and felt that we could contribute to create a solution for Saab and a long-term Swedish car company,” he continues.
He emphasizes that it is a financially strong consortium behind the proposed deal, not just the small sports car manufacturer.
- It is a misunderstanding. It is not the small car Koenigsegg taking over. We are a purchasing group,” he says.
Christian von Koenigsegg does not want to tell how many millions Saab cost.
- I would not go into any details of the current situation, we are in the negotiation phase with GM and offers no comments on it.
That Saab, for several years, has been characterized by miljardförluster (I think that means big losses – SW) not stop the financiers behind Koenigsegg.
- We have gone through Saab in detail and seen what there is for the strengths and weaknesses and we believe that our entrepreneurial spirit and the skills we have in the automobile, and other sectors in our group, can help create a long-term and successful Saab. This is a process that will take time and require much patience and work.
Koenigsegg Group consists mainly of a group of entrepreneurs of a different nature. In addition to Christian von Koenigsegg himself included Mark Alan Bishop, Bård Eker and Augi K Fabela, who is the chairman.
Christian von Koenigsegg can not make any guarantees about jobs in the Saab will remain in Sweden.
- If we become owners of Saab, we shall do our utmost to create a powerful company that can live on the international market.
But stop the jobs left in Trollhättan?
- Our ambition is to build a Swedish car company with all that implies.
Does it mean that the jobs stay in Sweden?
- Yes, very much, “said Christian von Koenigsegg.
Related posts:
That Opel blurb...
{ 25 comments }
miljardförluster = billions in losses (Swedish currency)
Mr.Christian von Koenigsegg
All the spotlights are on you ( and other investors/ partners)….
Everyone is hopeful and wishes a great sucsess with the Saab purchase!
Lets hope we never see that word again when it comes to Saab!
Thats a first good step for SAAB but what we urgently need is the new models, cabrio production will soon stop and moved to Trolhattan, when will the production of the new 9-5 start in Trollhattan, after the convertible or before,
Bring foto’s of the new 9-5 with the correct delivery dates, thats what people are waiting for;
Good to see CvK speak to the media.
We can’t reasonably expect them to announce any major plans until the deal has been finalized. So be patient, my friends.
Christian von Koenigsegg also did an interview on camera, which is available at GP.se. I’m guessing that googletrans still has a bit of difficulty with spoken Swedish
so here’s my translation instead. He didn’t really say very much that was new, but it’s interesting to hear from the guy firsthand and hear what he sounds like.
A long time Saab fan and owner, I am both excited at this prospect and very very concerned.
A group led by Koeningsegg will certainly have the right ideas got the direction of the company.
That being said, not being a major auto manufacturer this brings Saab back to where it was in the late 80s, a small niche manufacturer lacking the sales volumes over which to spread R&D costs…
In order for this to work there will have to be STRONG partnerships with other auto manufacturers.
quoting Jonathan Ford from Reuters at Guardian.UK notes 90% ownership by new Koenigsegg Group, implying GM retains 10%?:
“By Jonathan Ford
LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) – The astonishing deal that the tiny supercar maker, Koenigsegg, has struck to buy Saab from General Motors has been hailed as a “David and Goliath” transaction between two Swedish carmakers. But is that really what it is?
Koenigsegg, an amusingly-named company which sells about 18 (very expensive) cars a year, may seem an endearingly dotty Swedish venture. It is after all the brainchild of a bald Swedish toff, builds unfeasibly powerful sports cars and operates from an old military airstrip near Stockholm where the well-heeled clientele fly in to eyeball the motors. But the people behind the Saab deal are neither dotty nor Swedish.
The new chairman of Koenigsegg is Augie Fabela, a heavy-duty U.S. financial investor who founded VimpelCom, Russia’s largest mobile operator, in 1992 and then floated it on the New York Stock Exchange a few years later. Another backer is a San Diego-based investor, Mark Bishop. It is not clear exactly what Fabela’s financial interest is in the venture but Bishop will have a 22 percent stake in Koenigsegg Group, which will in turn own 90 percent of Saab as well as the original Koenigsegg business.
Fabela is said to have become involved with Koenigsegg as the distributor of its cars in the United States. It is suggested that he may even own one himself. But these U.S. investors do not look like petrol-heads pursuing a dream to build the perfect Saab. One would imagine that Fabela has seen an opportunity to secure Saab’s assets for a knockdown price from battered old GM. All the better to do such a deal through a friendly Swedish company rather than some scary alien financial operation. …”
K-egg or New Saab nees to clarify the mysterious Mr. Bishop soon.
According to svt.se, Koenigsegg’s new business plan for Saab (claimed to have been presented to the government) states that Saab should be profitable already at 70,000 cars per year. They plan major downsizing to achieve that. Representatives for the union say that they are unaware of such a plan.
Hopefully Swade can bring clarity to this rumored GM ownership. I think it can be a major factor in how everybody evaluate this deal.
@ Karen I think you found Mr. Bishop yesterday. Fabela is an odd fit as Chairman but not shareholder. And where did K-Segg get the dough to own so much?
@ ctm Breakeven at 70,000 units means great numbers of people in Sweden will lose their jobs. This is counter to the Sweden loan guarantees so keep that seat belt on. And the GM ownership is gross – a clean break is what Saab needs with bridge agreements with GM.
And K-Segg hd a great opportunity to pump up the workers and management, to be the leader! He didn’t do a good job to me. He hedged. He claimed investors but named no one.
I agree with None that CvK and Eker need to name some of the investors that Maud and JAJ so seem to like or they’ll face mounting and rampant speculation.
Most likely co-work with GM is far more easier when GM remains as a 10% owner. I see no harm in that as there must be co-work anyway for a long time.
Profit at 70K? Very hard to say anything about it as we dont have financial data.
We can only compare it to Saab’s own word that 130K cars per year will make them profitable in coming years.
What would be needed to breakeven at 70K?
Some guesses:
-firing people, A LOT
-less money in investments
-less money in ads
-no more discount(selling at loss) sales in the USA
You guys have to understand that if the deal won’t be finalized until the 3rd quarter of this year then they can’t go into great details until things are set in stone. I think in the coming weeks we will hear more though. I’m more concerned with the time frame it’s gonna take to bring these new models to market than anything… Hopefully Saab has been developing ahead of the curve and are just ready to release these new line-up of cars.
My guess is that the future exact GM share is still a part of the negotiations.
“The (real) deal should be ready in the third quarter” says ams.de. That is by the end of September.
Still. Now we “only” have a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding). Like Opel/Magna etc. The game is not 100% a done deal. But lets hope it works out just as planned by JÅJ and his crew.
“- I don’t foresee that. Our ambition is to continue here in Ängelholm, and we are very happy and content here.”
I think this speaks against a combining of the two brands in a severe way as some has been concerned about.
I really like the talk, so let’s see the walk!
yes, came back to add my two cents:
Fabela was/is a big contributor to Republicans, including W. If this is the correct Mark Bishop (smoking gun!), and there is even a hint that New Saab is skewing to the luxury market for the rich, then the U.S. media is going to have a field day linking New Saab to the super-rich sharks who took down the economy.
Coupled with the widespread anger at GM, and an America where even the still rich are avoiding public displays of wealth (big surge in interior decorating because that stays out of sight), I cannot see how any positive Saab perceptions will survive to 2010 in the U.S. among Saab’s core market segment.
CJ understood the dynamics of the U.S. market and consumer where Saab loyalty could rebuild Trollhattan’s volume with less-luxurious models.
the San Diego-based Bishop as shareholder is a huge mistake. I really hope it is a different Bishop because the media scrutiny in the next few weeks will fix perceptions for a long time.
I’ve tried to be optimistic through al of this, but I won’t even keep my 1999 9-3 much longer if any money is coming from the sub-prime/foreclosure crisis. Have lost enough from the indirect fallout. Saabs really are expensive to properly maintain once they get to a certain age.
Yes, everybody please note that SAAB is still owned by GM. I expect that they will try and secure complete sale in time for Frankfurt in September and the 9-5 debut which will be symbolic of the new beginning. Things will continue to get worse for SAAB before they get better. Koenigsegg is not to blame for this.
@ Karen – +1 The spin/charm offensive will begin today.
CvK and GM are doing their best on the spin, but the elusive Mr. Bishop has yet to be unveiled except that truthaboutcars post is now #2 Google hit on “Mark Bishop Saab”
see my new comment about Quick Loan on previous post on K-Egg Group. Thought it best to bury it there, using my newly sharpened pitchfork.
Maud is still skeptical about the K-egg Group funding, and somewhere I just read that the EIB requires six weeks advance application, so the July meeting deadline has passed. Next EIB meeting is September.
Someone better have some serious cash to get Trollhattan through September. That 90MIL left in mid-May from GM is not enough.
@Karen Looks like word on Bishop is getting around. Also, where the heck is Eker? I this really the small group I feared? K-Segg will own almost half of Saab. Can’t blame Maud.
Maud Olofsson said in an interview on television that the group has more than enough money, but she also said that we will have to wait and see how much money they are willing to put into Saab. I assume that would be the case with whoever bought Saab.
SVT says Fabela is very rich because of Vimpelcom. It may look a bit odd that Koeniggsegg/Eker has a large percent of the future Saab, but I am sure Fabela have the money when needed.
The sale will not go through unless the money is in place. No Govt will provide $600mill in guarantees to a hotmail address and a post office box. Nore will GM or their new “owner” the US government. As the Swedish govt & DeutscheBank perform their diligence on the group in order to close the deal then all should become clear.
All of which is my opinion of course.
@ PT Great point. With the news yesterday that Saab can’t afford printer paper, I wonder how much of their own money they will put into the company. Can’t imaging the state loans will be there unless they step up and pass scrutiny. Like Karen, I am a bit spooked with Bishop even in spite of the charm offensive the last 24 hours.
@ Daniel How are you “sure” Fabela will have the money when needed? Can’t wait to hear more.
Comments on this entry are closed.