Spyker Cars tables renewed offer for GM’s Saab marque
Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars yesterday submitted a new offer to fast-track a buyout of Saab from General Motors, two days after last-ditch talks to rescue the Swedish manufacturer collapsed.
GM said on Friday it would start shutting down the loss-making firm after talks with Spyker ended.
The move to abandon the 60-year-old Swedish auto brand would eliminate 3,400 jobs in Sweden and drop 1,100 Saab dealers.
But Spyker said on Sunday it has submitted a renewed offer including an 11-point proposal addressing each of the issues that arose during the due diligence process. “We have made every effort to resolve the issues that were preventing the conclusion of this matter and we have asked GM and all other involved parties to seriously consider this offer,” Spyker Cars chief executive Victor Muller said in a statement.
Spyker Cars said the new offer eliminates the need for a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan approval prior to year end, which would allow the deal to be concluded within GM’s deadline. Muller added Spyker was confident the offer would remove the impasse and allow it to conclude the deal prior to the expiry of the deadline originally set by GM of 31 December.
The renewed offer is valid until 10pm London time today.
The primary backers of Spyker Cars — which last year sold 43 cars at prices of at least €200,000 (£177,000) – include Russian banking tycoon Vladimir Antonov and his Convers Group, which has almost a 30 per cent stake in the firm.