Swedish Dagens Nyheter reports that Vladimir Antonov wants Saab to break free from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB is of course Saab main lender with the SEK 2 billion loan to be used on projects and development to improve environmental friendliness of Saab cars.
The fact that Antonov, or Saab for that matter, wants Saab to break free from the EIB, is not a big news. We have known about these plans for a long time. As long the EIB is Saab's lender, Saab is tied on its hands and feet. All major decisions needs to be approved by the politically governed EIB. Which is of course an intolerable situation for a private company like Saab where quick decisions can mean the difference between loss and profit. For instance, the EIB is reluctant to allow Antonov to become part owner of Saab.
What is new in Dagens Nyheter's news piece is that at moment there are discussion with a couple of European commercial bank's about transferring the loan. These bank can quickly become Saab's lender as soon as Saab has reestablished stability in the cash flow. That means that first Saab needs to resume production and sale and generate good incomes.
The big question is if Saab can reestablish the needed stability before it's too late.
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