by Rune
December 16, 2011 in News
The court ruled this morning that Lofalk must remain at least until Monday. They want to give the creditors a chance to have their say in the choice of a new administrator.
Given the short time remaining until Monday’s meeting, the court decided they could not at this point grant Lofalk’s request.
by Rune
December 14, 2011 in News
Saab and Guy Lofalk have this afternoon filed a request to the court requesting a new administrator to replace Guy Lofalk.
In a fax to the court, Lofalk writes:
I have not had the opportunity to evaluate the new financial plan in detail. My view is that the new structure agreed upon between Saab and Youngman is such that it deserves a new administrator to be put in my place.
Lofalk goes on to explain the need for a fresh approach to the question at hand.
Lars-Henrik Andersson is nominated and has agreed to the assignment should the court decide to let the reconstruction continue.
SVD has more on this development (english translation).
by Tim
November 30, 2011 in News
Accodring to Stockholm TT and E24.se the administrator Guy Lofalk is right now trying to launch a new ownership structure with GM for Saab. At the same time the unions are preparing a demand for the salaries that were supposed to be paid in November.
A Chinese regional fund, that takes on 60% of the ownership in Saab is the solution that Guy Lofalk is trying to launch with GM. He has also tried to pursued Pang Da and Youngman to settle for 20% each, according to Dagens Industri.
by Rune
October 28, 2011 in News
The court issued a press release today stating that Guy Lofalk has withdrawn his petition to end the reconstruction phase. The scheduled meeting with the creditors October 31st 10am will be held.
“(…)Pang Da and Youngman will finance the reconstruction as well as the business plan.” writes Guy Lofalk. “(…)this must be looked into before making a decision to terminate the reconstruction”
From TimR:
Yesterday evening, news reached SU from a secure source that the sales price is supposed to be 100 million euros for 100% of the company. The request from Lofalk confirms this development.
by Rune
October 27, 2011 in News
At 3:48pm, Saab’s General Counsel Kristina Geers sent an e-mail to the court notifying them that Saab, for the moment, has no statement to make pending further discussions with interested partners.
Saab and its owner is currently engaged in intensive negotiations with relevant investors securing future continued financing of Saab’s business. The outcome of these negotiations, that are very close to being finalized, are vital to be able to present the court with the statement requested. As a result, Saab cannot provide a statement at this time. Saab intends to fulfill the request as soon as possible. Saab is conscious of and respects the schedule the court is following.
The e-mail had been printed, scanned and then published on the court’s webpage. I have translated it very quickly and the gist of it is as follows: More information will follow.
by Rune
October 27, 2011 in News
According to TTela, Saab has petitioned the court for an extension to their original 1pm deadline today.
The court granted their request and are now waiting for more information from Saab concerning Saab’s desire to continue the reconstruction process.
From Di.se 14:08
Saab is late with opinion to the district court
At one o’clock on Thursday was the deadline for Saab to file its response to the district court in Vanersborg, where they must justify why the reconstruction will continue. But still, no documents have been received from Saab.
Last Thursday came the news that Saab Automobile’s administrator Guy Lofalk requested that the reconstruction be canceled because the company is out of money. Then 13 days Thursday Saab must present its reasons to the district court why the reconstruction should continue.
But at one o’clock on Thursday afternoon, the district court in Vanersborg not yet received Saab’s opinion.
“Time has passed, but given how important the issue is I do not think it will be totally impossible. But they can not come in with their opinion how late any time because we will decide tomorrow Friday,” says Elisabeth Lindstrom, court secretary in the district court in Vanersborg.
According to Judge Cecilia Tisell the district court in Vanersborg, Saab has not asked for more time, writes TT. According to her, Saab must immediately get into the documents if they want to ensure that the district court to consider their response.
The district court may make decisions but Saab’s opinion, she says.
“In that case, we base our decision on the administrator duties. We will be working on this afternoon,” said Cecilia Tisell said.
At Saab says Ms Gustav of Communications to di.se that “all interested parties have been in communication with the district court in the case of Saab’s reply,” but confirms that no “official document” has been submitted.
Have you asked for more time on you?
“The only thing I can say is that we have been in contact with the district court.”
Will you be submitting a response to the district court?
“We must come back to [them].”
There is no doubt that Saab must provide strong and credible reason for the reorganization will continue, after the administrator Guy Lofalk has requested that the reconstruction be interrupted.
Saab must be concrete in its opinion, says Elizabeth Lindstrom.
“I do not want to speculate on the reasons the company would come up with. But can they prove that it has received money in the account, it is clear that it would prove that the reconstruction will continue, given that it has been the economy that has been the reason for the administrator Guy Lofalk requested that the reconstruction would be stopped.”
According to Elizabeth Lindstrom, Saab must show either that Guy Lofalk have been wrong in its conclusions, or that circumstances have changed.
Saab confirmed on Thursday by Ms Gustav on the company’s communications department, that the negotiations with Pang Da and Youngman continues. Under an agreement signed in July, the Chinese companies to acquire 53.9 percent of Saab Automobile to 245 million, around 2.2 billion. But according to the Dagens Industri want the two companies now instead acquire the entire Saab Automobile.
On Friday, taking the district court in Vanersborg decision on whether the reorganization should continue or not. Will there be a no, the company is again under bankruptcy.
by Rune
October 21, 2011 in News
A press release from the court states that Saab has until October 27th 1pm to make a statement concerning the filing made by the reconstruction administrator Guy Lofalk.
The court will then try to make a ruling prior to the creditors’ meeting on October 31st.
by Tim
September 21, 2011 in News
I had a nice talk with Victor Muller and he of course was happy and “clearly relieved”
- “I am clearly relieved” said Victor on the phone.
- “We are now starting on a plan about re-starting the production”
Everyone in the management team but also around Saab are very happy today:
Overall reactions from employees I’ve talked to were: Read the rest of this entry →
by Tim
September 21, 2011 in News
The ruling of the court of appeals has cast it’s ruling on whether Saab should be granted reconstruction and thus protection from bankruptcy demands. The ruling is YES 
THE COURTS RULING: Read the rest of this entry →
by Jeff
September 12, 2011 in News
In the third and fourth appendices to their reconstruction appeal, Swedish Automobile lists the quality and operational improvements, as well as several new advancements we’ve heard about behind the scenes but haven’t been able to share with you publicly. This document changes that, and is further proof that the company deserves to live on.
Want an example of how Saab has been spending their EIB environmental loan prudently besides the incredible 119g/km CO2? There’s more information about that Extended Range Electric Vehicle à la Chevy Volt or new Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid mentioned in their press release from this morning. Read about that plus other highlights after the break.
by Jeff
September 12, 2011 in News
As part of Saab’s appeal today, Pang Da and Youngman have both submitted letters to the court explaining their belief that the deal will go through. They back it up with tables showing the process, and what levels of that process are complete. Read the letters and see those charts after the break.
by Swade
August 21, 2009 in News
It was announced earlier this week that this would be the case, but seeing Saab’s reconstruction period has been such a large part of the Saab story this year, it seemed necessary to have an entry marking the end of this process.
This from TTELA (via Googlywoogly)
Reconstruction of Saab Automobile is now formally closed. The decision was taken by the District Court in Vänersborg on Friday morning.
Guy Lofalk, lawyer and the person responsible for reconstruction, said on Wednesday that he would not request additional time for their work and thus was the case in principle clear. His statements came in to the court shortly before closing time.
Here’s to the success of the next stage in Saab’s journey towrds independence!
by Swade
August 19, 2009 in Editorial
UPDATED
——
The Swedish government have helped Saab to the extent that the law requires them to help. They provided assistance with wages whilst Saab was in reorganisation. They have also provided research and development assistance to Saab, and many other companies, in the interests of growing Swedish industrial know-how. Many governments do this, so it’s not all that unusual.
It’s becoming increasingly clear, however, that the Swedish government will not provide assistance for Saab in the form of a loan that will assist them in getting through the next few years.
The Koenigsegg Group say they would like to find another 3billion Swedish crowns to finance Saab’s operations. It’s not clear to me whether they need this to finance the purchase of Saab from GM, or whether it’s what they want in order to run Saab the way they want to. It seems this money is what they need to achieve the business plan they’ve presented to GM as part of the purchase process. GM have agreed to fund part of the plan. Koenigsegg Group are said to be putting in around 700mil SEK themselves and they seek to fund the remaining 30% via borrowings.
What remains as a matter for conjecture, then, is whether or not they should get it with assistance from the Swedish government.
We all know what’s happened in the US, where they stopped short of actually saying the Big 3 were too big to fail, but their actions implied it. France have helped out. Germany has a massive scrappage scheme. I’m pretty sure the Brits have stepped in, or at least offered to.
Even here in Australia we have had governments of various persuasions that propped up car companies over the years. Mitsubishi have enough lives for 10 cats before they finally pulled the pin a few years ago.
Why?
Because the jobs and the industries are important.
I’m not sure whether or not Saab will succeed in the long term. I’m quite confident they won’t go down wondering, though. I’m sure that if given the chance, they’ll build the absolute best cars they can design.
The other thing I’m not sure about is whether or not Saab have been bailed out at any time in their history. I know the Wallenbergs probably had to put money in a long time ago, and that they struggled to profit when under Scania’s umbrella, which led to their sale to GM.
But if they’ve never been bailed out by the government in the past, then what is so wrong about asking for government assistance this time? Saab are a vital part of a vital export and technology industry in Sweden.
What is so wrong with asking for a government loan (not a handout) to get a real chance at survival and independence?
by Swade
August 19, 2009 in News
Swedish news service e24.se published an article with some good background information on Saab’s situation with the reorganisation process. Specifically, it deals with debts, and Saab’s vulnerability to debtors once out of creditor protection.
This isn’t about building or driving cars, but is relevant material in terms of understanding Saab’s current position.
The translation was done by ctm for Saabs United readers.
——
Friday last week saw a telephone conference in the creditors’ committee, the group of creditors that Saab is obliged to keep informed during the reconstruction period. That was when Saab said that reconstruction now is about to be closed. But no details on the financing of the deal with Koenigsegg were given.
- “We had a short telephone conference in the committee. I do not want to discuss in detail what was said, but regarding the financial situation nothing were discussed. There were no news at all,” says Mats Hagelin, the Swedish Tax Agency’s representative in the creditors committee.
Saab has been under reconstruction since February 20, and has since been protected from being declared bankrupt. On Thursday, August 20, the reorganization period ends and Saab’s CEO Jan Åke Jonsson has confirmed that there is no intention to seek a further extension.
75 percent of the debts of 10 billion SEK has been written off in an arrangement which was completed June 17. GM has paid the remainder of the debts to suppliers and have converted their debt after the composition of SEK 2.8 billion to equity, according to news sources.
As of Friday, August 21, it will be theoretically possible for a creditor to put Saab in bankruptcy.
This, however, requires that the applicant can demonstrate that the company is insolvent, either by being unable to pay its debts as they fall due and/or can’t pay future liabilities.
- “The protection that the reconstruction means is not retained after Thursday. But on the other hand, a reconstruction puts a hard strain on the company’s liquidity because you can’t manage invoices as usual, with credit, since they must be paid immediately. There are advantages to exit a reorganization period,” says Mats Hagelin.
The importance of showing up an economically healthy company is also a big one if Saab has to convince the European Investment Bank that they should get the loan of 4.3 billion SEK.
- “It is probably doubtful that a company applying for loans from the EIB can be in reconstruction,” says Mats Hagelin.
He stresses that the Tax Agency is not interested in forcing Saab into bankruptcy. Instead he express a “hope that the deal in any case will be successful.”
- “We have no reason to put Saab into bankruptcy. We have no debt not covered by the composition. Saab has paid all tax debts during the reconstruction, so the claims we, the State, have are not due until next year,” says Mats Hagelin.
Although the Tax Agency hopes that the deal with Koenigsegg Group goes without a hitch, the authority still made a declaration of no confidence of in connection with vote on the composition proposal in May.
Of the 579 claimants, 107 chose not to participate in the vote. 472 creditors – equivalent to 81,5 percent – had given administrator Guy Lofalk a proxy vote in favor of the composition. The Tax Agency voted no on the grounds that the financial solution was too unclear.
Was the meeting last Friday of any importance for you?
- “For our own part, it was not that really interesting. We had marked our intention with the composition proposal. We voted against the proposal. I can’t say that the meeting revealed something that we benefit from. You can say that the meeting focused on further action, I do not want to be more specific than that,” says Mats Hagelin.
The Tax Agency has claims at just over 348 million SEK and is not a leading creditor. The largest creditor is GM. The 348 million SEK is money that Saab was paid in the form of State wage guarantees and social security contributions for employees during two months. In addition, there is a smaller amount of customs duties.
by Swade
August 18, 2009 in News
Earlier this evening, Saab uploaded three videos to one of its news distribution companies. There was one video each of Jan-Ake Jonsson and Christian von Koenigsegg, and there was one edit featuring the both of them (as shown earlier via GM Europe TV).
An hour after it first appeared, the CvK video was removed from the site. I did get to watch it once, but I can’t recall if it had any more content than what was edited for the video combined with JAJ.
Perhaps it will be reinstated some time in the near future.
Until then, the following is a text transcript of Christian von Koenigsegg’s comments in the combined video as featured on GM Europe TV.
——
Man with extremely smooth voice: This deal with Saab and General Motors is now going ahead. Why has it taken so long?
Christian von Koenigsegg: Actually, from our perspective we think we’ve moved quite fast. It was only about 8 or 9 weeks ago [that] we started getting into the process of looking at all the details of Saab. Now we have reached so far [to the point of signing] a SPA, a share purchase agreement, of which we’re very proud and happy to have reached this point.
We have great plans for the future of Saab and we’ll do our utmost to build an exciting, strong company and of course that’s good for the Saab employees as well.
MWESV: When people hear the name Koenigsegg they think of an extremely small manufacturer of high performance supercars and it’s a bit of a puzzle to understand how such a small company can take on Saab. How are you going to organise it?
CvK: We get that question a lot…..It’s actually not Koenigsegg, the supercar manufacturer who is buying Saab. It’s a company called Koenigsegg Group, where I personally, and the supercar manufacturer is a part of. But we consist of a group of entrepreneurs – Swedish, Norwegian, American – of course it’s a Swedish company but it’s an international base behind it. Within that group we have the strength and energy, and know-how and will to get this job done.
MWESV: Saab is a company that evokes a great deal of passion around the world. There’s a great deal of expectation hanging on your shoulders. What actually attracts you and your fellow investors to Saab?
CvK: It’s a very unique brand and it’s got a great heritage….. Sweden has the greatest number of innovations, per capita, in the world, and that has been seen through Saab’s history. You can see that with their products. We want to reinvigorate that, make it unique, Swedish, innovative, environmentally friendly and of course, fun to drive.
MWESV: So the deal is struck, but you know, of course, that the key for any car company is product – new product. So what new cars are we going to see from ‘new Saab’?
CvK: Well the first one coming out is already in the pipeline – it’s the new 9-5 – which I’ve personally driven and tested over the summer and I think it’s a great car. It’s very important for Saab’s future. Then we have the 9-3x which has just been launched, which is also a good compliment ….then we have a few other cars coming out in the near future which are in the pipeline, so to speak, I can’t get into too many details right now, but, we have a lot of new products coming.
MWESV: And there is the money on the table to make it all happen? A lot of people have been wondering about that, too.
CvK: Absolutely. money is an important factor and we’ve been working together with the Swedish government, GM and within our group to secure finance for Saab, and we’re well on our way, and it’s close enough for us to sign the SPA and [now] we have the next important step in front of us during the next months to get the whole deal done.
It is a huge challenge but it’s a rewarding challenge and we’re very confident that we’ll make this work.
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