IMPORTANT NEWS: National Electric Vehicle Sweden has agreed to buy the assets of Saab Automobile and the sale is expected to be finalized during the summer.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Labor unions and creditors want new bankruptcy administrators

Swedish Dagens Industri reports that tomorrow the labor unions at Saab and a collective of the creditors will send a request to the Vänersborg District Court that the court replaces the two bankruptcy administrators.

Several independent sources tell DI that the administrators have shown "great lack of knowledge and have not understood the complexity of Saab Automobile's business."

Among other things, the recording of the bankruptcy estate has not been completed yet, which makes it impossible for the administrators to go into negotiations with the parties interested in acquiring the estate.

So far both Chinese Youngman and Turkish Brightwell Holdings have announced that they are interested in acquiring Saab. Also Indian Mahindra & Mahindra is most likely a third party interested. Also Swedish parties have shown interest, but according to DI's sources these parties are "fortune hunters".

The problem now is time, and if it is a fact that lack of knowledge from the administrators delays negotiations with interested parties, then this is a big problem. Sources say that the money in the bankruptcy estate will only cover ten more days of work and thereafter the administrators may be forced to sell assets from the estate to cover further work.

The asset first at hand is probably the remaining shares in the Saab property company which owns the Trollhättan manufacturing plant among other things. In June 2011 Hemfose bought 51 percent of the shares in the company for SEK 300 million, and now the administrators may be forced to sell the remaining 49 percent for only SEK 25 million to raise more money.