You are browsing the archive for Vladimir Antonov.

Avatar of Rune

by Rune

Antonov, Saab and their fans

November 25, 2011 in Editorial

Sigh.

Given the present situation, there are a number of problems I’d love to have in their stead.

Some of the comments left on SU the past couple of days are almost ecstatic. Most of you have seen them. Apparently a number of people told us that Antonov was a crook and Saab was better off without him.

First of all: An arrest does not guarantee a conviction in a court case. Antonov remains innocent until proven guilty.

With that out of the way, I am curious about what a worst case scenario would have been. We need to deploy the ‘what if?’-machine and go back in time.
Read the rest of this entry →

Avatar of till72

by till72

Around Saab Snippets

November 17, 2011 in News

Things are still quiet from Saab, but there are a few things out there that are worth mentioning, even if they are not directly Saab related.

I think all of us remember that Geely had again after 2009 shown interest in taking over Saab (or just the best pieces, who knows) just a few weeks ago. WantChinaTimes report now that they are facing financial troubles:

The Chinese-language Capital Week, however, reported that Li and Geely Group have been stuck in a financial rut. Geely has reportedly started to contact private domestic and overseas equity funds, such as Carlyle and TPG, for fresh funding, in order to repay Goldman Sachs for high-yield bonds. Most of these private equity funds are cautious about the request, due to their concern over Geely’s ability to repay.

Read the rest of this entry →

Swedish Radio P4 West: Hope for Saab!?

July 24, 2011 in News

While the last days has been a rollercoaster around Saab (we all remember Friday), Swedish Radio (SR) P4 West have published a news-report yeasterday (Saturday) at their site with an interview with Lars Carlström, Antonov’s spokesperson in Sweden. Link here: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=125&artikel=4614178

The headline is “New hope for Saab” and focus on the situation with the EIB-loan. With that loan taken over by private banks there is no need for Saab to have the EIB-approval for Antonov as an owner.

Read the rest of this entry →

Avatar of Rune

by Rune

Digging into Maud’s claims (for future reference)

July 15, 2011 in Editorial

First of all, the following is intended to again draw attention to the Swedish government’s lack of commitment to the Swedish automobile industry. I am not necessarily advocating spending the taxpayers’ money, although that would certainly be in everyone’s best interest. I am however reminding people that the government are still dragging their feet when asked to approve Antonov as a major shareholder of Saab. It seems as if the government are pushing EIB to not approve Antonov so the public won’t realize the government are actively trying to bury the automobile industry.

In any case: I find it both interesting as well as annoying the way politicians twist and turn around the issues at hand.

An excellent example is Maud Olofsson’s infamous letter to Mr Antonov.
Read the rest of this entry →

Avatar of Red J

by Red J

Tired of waiting II

July 6, 2011 in News

It seems like Tim is not the only one tired of waiting. Our friend Vladimir Antonov seems also tired of waiting, and has decided to expand his collection of car related companies.

CPP (Coventry Prototype Panels), the company that has bought the sports-car division of Swedish Automobile, and Bowler has now taken over the Italian Design Studio Zagato.

It is not much known about the deal, not to say that not even the deal is known, but on the site of Zagato Milano the company credit reads CPP milano s.l.r.

Avatar of Red J

by Red J

Antonov hasn’t been approved by the Swedish Government yet

June 30, 2011 in News

Ttela.se says that the Swedish government will approve Antonov as owner of Saab in a few days.

Read the rest of this entry →

Avatar of Jeff

by Jeff

Antonov Still Wants a Stake In Saab

June 27, 2011 in News

This may be old news to many, but it’s worth having on the front page to remind everyone that one of Saab’s greatest champions is still waiting on the sidelines waiting for approval. Lars Carlstrom continues to remind the press about Vladimir Antonov’s interest in having a formal stake in Saab, and was interviewed today by SvD. Read the rest of this entry →

Avatar of Jeff

by Jeff

Robert Collin Calls Out Reinfeldt

June 24, 2011 in Editorial

Friend to SaabsUnited Robert Colin of Aftonbladet has written a very to the point and worthwhile summary of how the politicians at the top of the Swedish government reacted to the news of Saab’s troubles yesterday. Usually I leave the Swedish media or government rants to Tim as I’m American, but I can plainly see all the way from over here just how poorly they’ve handled this situation. I love Sweden– the history, the design heritage, the culture, and most of all the people. But right now, I’m not so in love with the ministers that run the place. For all those of you who live in Sweden, please bookmark this article so the next time that election cycles come around, you can remember how Prime Minister Reinfeldt feels about Saab and vote accordingly to elect politicians who value the Swedish auto industry.

Full English translation after the break.

Read the rest of this entry →

Avatar of Red J

by Red J

Time for mid-week Snippets

June 22, 2011 in Saabology

In the last week news events were so big that it was convenient to present them in a single post each. But now it’s time to wait for the next big event, and the pieces of news are less important but not less interesting.

In Germany the Independence Edition Saab 9-3 Convertibles have landed. At least the German Saab Blog Saabblog.net reports about it.

I know they are based in the Frankfurt area, where Saab Germany has its offices, so they should know.


Read the rest of this entry →

Avatar of Red J

by Red J

NDO: No Obstacles for Vladimir Antonov to Become Part Owner of Saab *Updated

April 28, 2011 in News

The Swedish news service SVT (English Translation) says the the NDO sees no obstacle for Vladimir Antonov to become part of Saab.

After a review of Vladimir Antonov see Riksgälden no obstacle to the Russian businessman to become part owner of Saab. The experience report.

The conclusions of the Debt Office’s new review of Vladimir Antonov as a possible partner in Saab Automobile AB, will be presented at a press conference at 14:30 this afternoon.

Vladimir Antonov met on Tuesday Debt Office for a multi-hour meeting where the trader Antonov was questioned about his desire to become part owner of Saab.

At 14:30 CEST we will hear the original story. :-) This post will be updated to reflect the full statement from Bo Lundgren’s office.

At last, the first good news!

Thanks to WD78 for the hint.

Updates after the break. Read the rest of this entry →

Avatar of Jeff

by Jeff

Meeting with Antonov Shows Progress

April 26, 2011 in News

In a quick update from TTela, Bo Lundgren who runs the Debt Office said that his meeting with Vladimir Antonov went well, and that a decision should be reached within days.

The meeting of the National Debt Office and Vladimir Antonov is just finished.

According to sources TTELA the meeting have been completed with positive impressions.

“We have asked questions and we have received answers,” said Bo Lundgren at the Debt Office.

Today’s meeting focused on the ownership process.

“We have discussed the background and what Antonov’s ambitions are if he becomes an owner of Saab,” said Lundgren.

“Now we have had this meeting, though we wished to meet sooner. Next, we will sit down and evaluate what we take for their own decisions and also provide a support to the Government for their decision.”

According to the National Debt Office Bo Lundgren should hopefully be able to decide within days.

TTELA / TT

Keep in mind, we’re trying to report as much good news as possible, wherever we see it. These are not easy decisions to reach, though conceptually they might seem so. There are numerous details to be worked out, and any one of them can delay the process. We’ve seen this already many times in the last few weeks. Victor, Vladimir, and their teams are working feverishly on parallel tracks to ensure that production is started as soon as possible. Once the meeting is held tomorrow (in 11 hours or so) we’ll try to wrap up and report on what has been discussed, so we can continue to keep everyone in the loop. If there’s any more news tonight, we’ll update this post. Keep it nice in comments, everyone ;)

Saab will make it through this, and this meeting between Lundgren and Antonov reconfirms this. Patience is something the Saab community is short on, no wonder why we love turbos so much.

Avatar of Jeff

by Jeff

Weekend Loan Update

April 10, 2011 in News

A new week, a new round of press for Saab. We can all hope this time that loans will get approved, the liquidity situation will ease up, and the factory can restart production; then the media can finally report something positive.

A recap of events over the weekend:

  • According to Lars Carlstrom in an interview with TTELA (english version),”Yes, (the NDO) have given the green light to Vladimir Antonov can lend money, but he wants to come in as a shareholder. And it’ll continue to negotiate on this issue over the weekend.”  Vladimir Antonov himself and Victor Muller have been negotiating with representatives of government and Riskgälden since Friday.
  • According to Ola Kinnander at Bloomberg (a very trusted source of SU) , a source who didn’t wish to be identified since the talks are private indicated that the loan will come from Bankas Snoras in Lithuania (which is controlled by Vladimir Antonov). Lawyers are working on the loan deal today (Sunday April 10), which may be approved as early as tomorrow, two of Kinnander’s sources said.
  • Saab would likely borrow around 300 million kronor (€33.4 million) from Bankas Snoras, one of the people said, which will get production started ASAP. At the same time, Antonov and Spyker will wait for clearance to bring in Antonov from the EIB. Antonov is ready to invest at least €50 million in Saab, Lars Carlstrom said April 8, when he also said Antonov has agreed to cap his stake in Saab at 30 (29.9) percent.

All in all, it just shows Victor, Vladimir, and their team of lawyers and accounts will work all hours to make sure every paper is lined up and in order, even on the weekends. As hard as the production stop was on Saab in the media, it could have been a lot worse. In the United States, Japanese auto makers’ supply problems took center stage, and the biggest supply disruption– the US government’s near shutdown– kept the story pretty well hidden in the press. And while we all know that Saab is alive and kicking, for a lot of customers in the US and abroad, Saab hasn’t yet raised it’s profile enough for them to even realize that the company is still in business.. You don’t get too many second chances, but Saab has one and needs to get it right. Once the hiccups are solved, let’s hope they get a strong message based on real facts that Saab is alive, kicking hard, well stocked, and a bargain compared to the competition. We’ll help as much as we can here.

For my second sports reference in two days, It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.” Points for anyone who knows who those words are attributed to (don’t google!)


Avatar of Jeff

by Jeff

Thursday Snippets– Beatles Edition (updated)

April 8, 2011 in News

The pace of news articles from competing media agencies, be it Dagens Industri or the Wall Street Journal, has been blistering this past week (so fast in fact that I updated this with a late breaking New York Times article). Where there’s usually one or two Saab news articles that make the rounds each week, every morning we’re greeted by the latest updates of old headlines from the day before spun a new way. In an attempt to make it all more consumable and go down easier, I’ve compressed it all into one long snippets, organized around each player and their interest in Saab. Rather than regurgitate news (anyone can set up a news alert for Saab and read what pops up), we’re trying to make it easier for you to find all your Saab goodness in one place while we reflect on whatever insight we’re hearing from inside Saab.

We’d also like to lighten the mood a bit. As I said in the last snippets, in snippets I want to give you a quick overview of what you can expect. This time, instead of doing it graphically I decided that the Beatles might help me out. Let’s just say the thought hit me while on my morning jog with a certain playlist ;) The lyrics certainly fit.

Read the rest of this entry →

Avatar of Jeff

by Jeff

Vladimir Antonov officially files to invest in Saab

March 30, 2011 in News

According to ttela.se:

Vladimir Antonov has filed an application to become a shareholder in Saab.

The Debt Office and Antonov himself confirm this for TTELA.

Vladimir Antonov has filed a formal application to the Debt Office.

“We can confirm that we received an application from Vladimir Antonov last night, but, because of commercial confidentiality, we can’t say what it contains,”said Daniel Barr, who is project manager for Saab at the Debt Office.

Even Vladimir Antonov confirmed briefly that he had submitted an application. Previously, he said that he wanted to go in with capital of between 440-620 million (kronor), so that Saab and its parent company Spyker Cars NV might have a better capital buffer. Money thus can be used when you have problems with liquidity.

Furthermore, the Antonov indicated its willingness to enter the corresponding 1.7 billion to finance the development of small Saab, often referred to as 9-2. It requires that the Debt Office and the Bank approves him as owner.

As many will note in comments, Vladimir has taken a liking to twitter overnight. He’s actually got a pretty good sense of humor. At moments like these, it’s nice to remind ourselves that Saab has believers.

Some of the more interesting tweets include:

vladantonov1975 Vladimir Antonov

@SwadeAero thnx a LOT:))
vladantonov1975 Vladimir Antonov 

Sweden is very open society and to avoid any rumors:) yes we officially submitted the forms to NDO for change of control approval.
vladantonov1975 Vladimir Antonov 

So many rumors:) around small SAAB:) guys everything will be fine:) honestly nothing to add:) cozz all fine
vladantonov1975 Vladimir Antonov 

And pls stop this hysteria now! I will get it done anyway:)
vladantonov1975 Vladimir Antonov 

Cool:) so many twitter users interesting in:) SAAB:)))
vladantonov1975 Vladimir Antonov 

Ok:) I see now a lot of saabs news makers following me:) means that my message will be delivered to the media:) Saab is totally ok!Trust me!
vladantonov1975 Vladimir Antonov 

2 all Saab community: everything sort out. Saab had a technical issue nothing more then that. Now everything fixed. I can guaranty that;) VA
And the one that probably gathered the most attention, apparently Victor and Richard Branson are on good terms.
vladantonov1975 Vladimir Antonov 

@richardbranson @virgin have a lot of 2 discuss then. Saab/Spyker/and a lot another issues. Will be glad 2 talk! Best! VA
As you may or may not remember, Branson was the first owner of a Saab 9-5 2.3t BioPower in the UK, and he made a timely statement that relates to a subject Tim and RedJ have been talking about I lately, biofuels:
I am convinced that biofuels are the way forward, both for the car and aviation industries, which is a vision we share with Saab. Now we need to extend that vision to others. At the moment, bioethanol is made from a variety of agricultural sources, whilst in the future, we will see it made from cellulosic waste matter, such as wood chippings, which really will make it the ultimate green fuel.
So in addition to having CPP as a cousin with Spyker and Bowler among their brands, might Saab some day be related to the ultimate flying innovation? It’s fun to dream.
All in all, I hope the Swedish Debt Office can get around to allowing Vladimir in as an investor. He clearly cares a lot about Saab.
Also, thanks for following SaabsUnited on twitter, Vladimir ;)
Avatar of Jeff

by Jeff

Tuesday Snippets: JÅJ and VM talk product

March 29, 2011 in Editorial, News

While we’ve been talking a lot about Jan Åke’s retirement, Vladimir’s intent to invest in the company, and how certain members of the Swedish press feels that Victor is the antichrist, we may have lost sight of what really matters– the cars. Consummate professionals that they are, Victor and Jan Åke continue to talk to the responsible members of the press about the business plan. They confirm things we already know, but also leak new details about the ePower lineup, partnerships, and drivetrains. Also I take a stab at playing angel’s advocate to Robert Collin and Co.’s devil’s advocate and speculate on another outcome that isn’t often discussed here– the ramifications of Saab’s success on production and partnerships (something I hope we’ll be able to do a lot more of soon).

As you can also see, I’m incoporating an introductory graphic as a quick visual representation of what’s covered so you can get an idea what you’re in for…

Read the rest of this entry →