How Will The Acquisition Of Saab Impact The Makers Of Koenigsegg Cars?
Koenigsegg Automotive AB, a maker of $1.2 million high-performance sports cars, won the bidding for General Motors Corp’s Saab Automobile AB unit, returning the automaker to Swedish control after almost two decades. The sale is tied to a $600 million loan by the European Investment Bank that’s backed by the Swedish government, General Motors spokesman Chris Preuss said by telephone today. GM agreed to provide engine and other technology for a limited time. The companies didn’t provide financial details of the deal. Taking over Saab will catapult Koenigsegg from a supercar niche into the automotive mass market, adding Saab station wagons to Koenigsegg cars that command speeds of close to 400 kilometers (250 miles) an hour. Koenigsegg inherits a company that’s been unprofitable for most of GM’s 20 years of ownership and employs about 100 times Koenigegg’s workforce of 45.
Bankrupt General Motors Corp. has found a buyer for Saab, unloading the last major piece of the shrinking automaker’s empire that had been on the block. The brand will be bought by Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg Group, known for making $1.2-million super-cars that can top 240 mph. A price was not disclosed, although GM said the acquisition would be bolstered by $600 million in financing from the European Investment Bank, backed by the government of Sweden. GM said it would provide additional support to help Koenigsegg take over Saab and complete work on vehicles in development. “This is yet another significant step in the reinvention of GM and its European operations,” said Carl-Peter Forster, president of GM Europe. “Closing this deal represents the best chance for Saab to emerge a stronger company.” GM announced its intentions to sell or shutter Saab in December, and spent the first months of this year shopping it, along with its Saturn and Hummer brands, to a variety of bidders. With c
