Is Saab going to be acquired by Koenigsegg?”
Industry: Koenigsegg eyes up Saab 29 May 09 New owner expected shortly Koenigsegg is planning to buy a stake in Saab or the entire business, according to a report by a Swedish newspaper. Dagens Industri says that supercar maker is one front-runner in the battle to take over the troubled company from General Motors: the other is understood to be American financier Ira Rennert and his Renco Group.
Koenigsegg Among the Remaining Bidders for GM’s SAAB Division Thursday, May 28, 2009 According to a report from the Swedish financial daily newspaper, Dagens Industri, Sweden’s own supercar builder Koenigsegg, is one of the three remaining parties interested in buying General Motors’ SAAB brand. The newspaper said that the other two suitors for GM’s Swedish arm are Fiat S.p.A that has also made a bid for Opel and Vauxhall, and the Renco Group, a New York City-based holding company controlled by U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert. Citing unnamed sources close to GM, the paper said that the “toughest battle is expected between the Renco Group and Koenigsegg.” Dagens Industri noted that the Swedish automaker’s chief executive, Christian von Koenigsegg, declined to confirm or deny the newspaper report. In April, Saab officials told a Swedish court, which granted the company an extension of its reconstruction period, that they expect to have completed the sale by the end of June.
As you may already know, Saab is currently a part of the General Motors family and GM is currently in the process of restructuring its business. As part of this restructuring, it will be ditching some of its brands and Saab happens to be one of these niche brands. Koenigsegg probably isn’t the first name that comes to mind when it comes to commuter vehicles like those sold by Saab, since Koenigsegg is more about making limited production supercars. That could inject more performance and style into the Saab brand, while simultaneously expanding the big K’s reach in the marketplace. In addition to Koenigsegg, other parties interested in Saab include Renco Group (USA), Fiat (Italy), Geely Automobile Holdings (China), and an unnamed German commercial bank. Should Koenigsegg be successful in its bid, it fully intends on keeping Saab as a Swedish brand.
