Updated with press release from Saab
According to Reuters, the supplier SwePart Verktyg AB has applied to the Vänersborg District Court for Saab Automobile Tools AB to be declared bankrupt. The application was handed in to the District Court today Friday.
The debt in question is said to be SEK 5 million, that's about EUR 560,000.
Saab Automobile Tools AB is a fully owned subsidiary of Saab Automobile AB. According to the Vänersborg District Court , this is the first application it has received for a Saab company to be declared bankrupt.
Saab issued a press release this afternoon where it is confirmed that a supplier has filed for bankruptcy in Saab Automobile Tools AB. Here's what the press release says:
"Swedish Automobile N.V. confirms that one of the suppliers of Saab Automobile Tools AB (Saab Tools) filed for bankruptcy of Saab Tools, a subsidiary of Saab Automobile AB. The District Court has received the filing, but has not yet rendered a judgement which is expected in a few weeks. Saab Tools is currently assessing the issue and aims to resolve the issue as soon as possible."
The question now is if this will be the start of a series of applications or if Saab will be able to come to terms with this supplier and avoid a bankruptcy preceding in Saab Automobile Tools AB.
Earlier today it was also reported by TTELA that the two subsidiaries Saab Automobile Tools AB and Saab Automobile Parts AB have given large loans to their parent company Saab Automobile AB. The total amount is said to be at least SEK 800 million. The auditors warn that this can jeopardize the existence of the two companies if Saab Automobile AB goes bankrupt. But now it seems that at least one of these subsidiaries already has problems of its own.
For a long time now the hope has been that the Russian banker Vladimir Antonov will be allowed to be part owner of Saab and thus make much needed investments in the company. Today Lars Holmqvist who is the CEO of Clepa, the European association of automotive suppliers, says to Swedish Radio that he believes that the European Investment Bank (EIB) will not allow Antonov to become part owner, and that they will not reconsider. He also says that Saab needs SEK 4 to 5 billion to repay the EIB loans and pay the suppliers, and another SEK 5 billion to secure the existence of Saab in the longer run.
On this day which looks to be a bad day for Saab, I will remind my readers that Saab has gone through many bad days lately but has always found a solution and is still here.
A blog fueled by enthusiasm about Saab, the greatest car company between the North and the South Pole. And their cars, which probably is the only cars that would start on a cold and crispy South Pole morning.
