Today Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reports that there is disagreement around the SAAB brand name. On one side we have the defence and aerospace company Saab AB and the truck maker Scania AB, and they claim that they have to approve a new owner of Saab in order for this new owner to be able to use the SAAB brand name. On the other side we have Saab Automobile's new owner National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) and
the bankruptcy administrators, and they disagree with Saab AB and Scania.
The use of the SAAB brand name is reuglated by two agreements from the 1990ies. And the problem is that these agreements are now being interpreted different by the two sides.
None of the involved parties would however make comments to Svenska Dagbladet, so it is impossible to know if this is just a storm in a teacup or a serious problem that can bring down the deal.
Sources say that Saab AB got fed up with all the mess and uncertainty around Saab when Spyker owned the company. Reason being that many people around the world do not know the difference between the defense and aerospace company Saab AB and the car company Saab Automobile AB. And so people thought that also Saab AB was in trouble. To ensure this won't happen again, Saab AB wants a long term owner of Saab. And if Saab AB is reluctant to approve NEVS, then maybe they doubt if NEVS is in this for the long term, or the credibility of the business plan or the funding.
