More Good News for Saab as Swedes Receive €25 Million Loan

Another day, another new story for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget –or, as you might know it, Saab. The Swedish company announced on Wednesday that it has entered a €25 million convertible bridge loan from Gemini Investment Fund Limited.

The loan’s annual interest is 10% and the conversion price is €1.38 per share, while Saab can at any time repay the loan, presumably when the expected Pang Da and Youngman Lotus funding is received, without a penalty.

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Saab Says it Can’t Pay Workers, Company’s Survival in Doubt

New clouds are forming over Saab as the automaker’s parent company, Swedish Automobile N.V., formerly known as Spyker Cars N.V., said on Thursday it will be unable to pay its 3,800 employees their wages because it has not yet obtained the necessary short-term funding.

Swedish Automobile said it and Saab “are in discussions with various parties” to secure short-term funding, including through a sale and lease-back of Saab’s real estate assets.

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Vladimir Antonov Withdraws Proposal to Buy and Leaseback Saab Property

The ink has barely dried on Saab’s latest attempt to form a preliminary deal with China’s Pang Da Automobile and Youngman, and the Swedish company is faced with yet another problem as Russian investor Vladimir Antonov has withdrawn his proposal to buy and leaseback Saab property.

"The property sale is now being discussed with external investors," said Lars Carlstrom, Antonov's representative in Sweden. However, Carlstrom noted that the Russian banker was still interested in becoming a shareholder in Saab’s parent company Spyker Cars NV.

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Saab Signs Three-Way Deal with China’s Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile

Lately, it seems whenever there’s a problem with production at Saab’s Trollhattan plant, the Swedish automaker’s parent company Spyker Cars N.V. announces a new deal with a Chinese company.

Today, Spyker signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two Chinese firms, Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., Ltd (Pang Da) and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co., Ltd. (Youngman), which if approved by regulators, could see the company falling into the control of Chinese hands. We'll remind you that Saab had previously signed a deal Chinese firm Hawtai but it failed to go through Chinese regulators.

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Saab Temporarily Suspends Production Again while it Seeks Parts

The on-off production drama over at Saab’s Trollhättan facility in Sweden continues as the troubled automaker said Wednesday that it temporarily halted production due to a lack of components from its suppliers only two weeks after resuming making cars following a seven-week shutdown.

Saab said that it anticipated production hiccups in the start-up phase, as the supply chain still is not fully operational with some suppliers holding back until they get paid and others trying to re-stock.

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