Brightwell & Bankruptcy Administrators sign confidentiality agreement
January 26, 2012 in News
The turkish company brightwell and the bankruptcy administrators have signed an agreement of confidentiality which binds both parties not to disclose any information to other parties. One reason according to P4 West could be that Brightwell has in fact placed a bid for Saab that is not to be disclosed to other parties or persons.
As we have been reporting previous Brightwell has been a long time interested party in Saab. They were in contact with Saab and Victor Muller long before the bankruptcy became reality. During the We are many, we are Saab meeting in The Netherlands a representative from Brightwell attended the meeting together with Victor Muller, I have heard from very secure sources that he was mighty impressed with Saab, its heritage and its devoted fans.
Donald Munro said on January 28, 2012
Personally speaking, I think that GM would rather that Brightwell were involved in any possible buyout for the many reasons that have already been raised on this forum. However, as China is fast becoming a power on the global stage, I can fully understand why Youngman are so keen to follow through on the money they have already ploughed into SAAB, as I am given the impression that the Chinese are very much keen to improve on their safety record in European markets:
http://www.euroncap.com/Content-Web-Article/91fea4d4-30b5-484d-9dc5-140e0181278c/chinese-manufacturers-investing-in-safety.aspx
We live in interesting times!
Or perhaps, given their pivotal involvement, GM could start investing in SAAB again and REALLY take on the Germans (am thinking something affordable, quality, modern retro, aimed right between the Audi A1 and BMW 1 Series).
At the end of the day as long as SAAB survives!
Best wishes to you all from an enthusiast in Scotland.
Black Arrow said on January 28, 2012
As I’m concerneid, loose GM a.s.a.p.. If they would have had any interest in the well being of SAAB, they should have showed that a long time ago.
SAAB must do what’s right for SAAB and I think GM should never be involved in the future
Black Arrow said on January 28, 2012
concearned it is
Donald Munro said on January 29, 2012
With the greatest respect Black Arrow, I disagree. Everyone (dependant on the crime of course) deserves a chance to make amends. Especially if it means a bright future for SAAB.
Best wishes to you all from Scottish enthusiast.
Saabissimo said on January 28, 2012
This is a very long, active thread.
One little tidbit that seems to have passed unnoticed though is a quote in di.se yesterday from our friend Zamier Ahmed. He announced that he would spend this weekend in Detroit. Interesting destination for a weekend outing, don’t you think?
http://di.se/Artiklar/2012/1/27/257308/Bud-pa-Saab-nagra-dagar-bort/
Things are starting to happen now. Both Youngman and Brightwell start clocking up airmiles. I wonder when the administrators will have the paperwork ready so that the bidders know what they are bidding on?
jond said on January 29, 2012
BW have already stated that, inter alia their bid will be conditional on GM approval. So, it looks as though they are going to play the ‘we have GM on side and can start production immediately of the existing product line’ card, if they can. OTOH YM may well arrive tomorrow with a mountain of cash and with a carefully planned GM-free strategy. That must include some short-term tactics for getting production of something up and running and some incentives for the dealerships, which are now hurting badly. Others seem to be keeping their cards close to their chest and may very well surprise and excite us with their plans in due course.
All this means, of course, (to quote another contributor, who posted a week or so ago) that the bottom line is that Saab will be saved. And we all know that, if properly supported, the brand may have a spectacularly exciting future ahead.
Personally, I think that it may time to slip into extremely positive mode with little fear of disappointment. It is no longer a case of ‘if’ the brand has a future, but how that future will emerge. Journalists are generally well behind the reality of this one.