One of the few remaining steps in Saab’s transition to new ownership is an opinion from the European Union on state aid. In short, government’s can’t give state aid to troubled companies and the EU has to decide if Swedish loan guarantees would amount to such a scenario.
Saab provided some paperwork to the boffins in Brussels some time ago, and KPMG were commissioned to go back in time and see if Saab were in trouble back in mid-2008, prior to the global financial crisis.
SVT.se, a Swedish news source, are reporting that this process has taken a favourable outcome. Cue the Googletrans:
Saab joined by three billion in losses last year, but in the 80-page dossier which the government recently sent to the European Commission shows that the company still able to EU rules.
The consultancy firm KPMG has been commissioned by the government through Saab’s accounts. Including the issue of access to capital, cash flow and sales. The report concluded that, Saab was not in a financial crisis last summer. General Motors had, inter alia, contributed to the capital in June.
Saab has also made their own documents show that the finances were in order.
That would seem to remove that particular obstacle.
Now we still have the obstacle of motivation i.e. getting the EU people to get off their chair long enough to send a fax saying everything’s OK.
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