I’ve had limited online time in the last 5 days or so, so this is my effort at tying together the recent news stories surrounding Saab’s effort at reconstruction and the possible sale to a new owner.
there’s a good chance you’ll already have encountered some of these stories in the news, but I’ll try and tie them all together to make some sense.
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Saab and the IF Metall union have both recently said that there are around 10 investors looking into the possibility of buying Saab.
Swedish Industry Ministry Secretary, Joran Hagglund, came out earlier today and said there’s around 3 to 5 interested parties.
The difference?
Hagglund is contending that of these interested parties, only around half are actually serious about a possible Saab purchase. The rest are just trying to get a peek up Saab’s skirt to see what’s going on. My words, not his.
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Everything comes to a crunch on Monday, April 6, when Saab creditors are invited to Vanersborg to hear the latest progress report on Saab’s court-protected reconstruction process.
Maud Olofsson, who hasn’t exactly been a supporter of Saab in the last six weeks, is currently in the US and has been speaking to the administration there to try and gain assurances that their kicking of GM’s ass won’t have a detrimental effect on Saab’s potential sale.
Why would she be interested in that?
Some (all?) of Saab’s Swedish wage bill has been covered by the government since reconstruction began. If Saab can’t be sold, that money disappears into thin air. If Saab CAN be sold, then the new owner has to repay that money. That’s a good thing, as it means that Maud has some skin in the game, however insignificant it is.
April 6 is going to be a big moment for Maud Olofsson, however. Bigger than we all might have anticipated.
At that meeting, Saab’s creditors can ask the judge to wind up proceedings if they’re not convinced that Saab have chance of making it. That group of creditors has shrunk significantly in the last week or so, however, because GM have come up with payments to suppliers.
They’ve already paid 908 million to over 1,300 suppliers and the remain 471 suppliers are due to get paid on April 7th, the day after the hearing in Vanersborg.
That makes for a lot of relatively happy suppliers, but one remains and she’s got a grumpy demeanour and a liking towards wind farms – Maud Olofsson.
With so many creditors being paid, one of Saab’s last remaining and biggest creditors will be the Swedish government. THEY can ask the judge to wind things up if they’re not happy.
So April 6th will be an interesting time. It’s time for Maud to either poop, or get off the pot. With a wages bill outstanding and the reality of killing a national icon looming, I’m predicting she’ll do the latter.
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