Six or seven companies interested in the Saab car factory

Yesterday I`ve written that the administrators want to make the decision about the Saab car factory before the end of this month (february). What I did not know at that moment was that there are 6 or 7 companies interested in the Saab car factory! That Saab `ll be saved seems not to be the question anymore!

These 6 or 7 companies are all interested in acquiring the entire Saab company (except the Museum and Saab parts of course). There are rumors that BMW is the European company interested in Saab. They had contacts before with Saab in 2010 (engine deal), let us hope this rumor is true. I personally do not have a good feeling about Fiat to own Saab. Look to what they did with Lancia. BMW has a lot of success with Mini, with Saab they can do the trick again.

The above picture is from my "Spykersaab" convertible (I do not like text without pictures). Do you have a nice picture of your Saab? Feel free to post at our Facebook page and I`ll use it on this blog!

Click here to see the Saabs in the Trollhättan Saab Museum.

Anne Springer joins Saabsunited

Please read the first post below of Anne Springer on Saabsunited! Anne is also active on this blog and our Facebook page about the Saab Museum.

Hi! My name is Anne, and I am a Saaboholic (meaning addicted to Saab). You will find me on Facebook constantly sharing news updates and giving a good Rah! Rah! to keep people positive about Saab.

Why do I do this? I love Saab. I simply love it. I have fallen in love with the aerodynamic body design, the grinning grille assembly, and the quirkiness of the car once you get in the driver’s seat. Quirks, you have to love them! I find myself patting the dash at times, either words of encouragement, endearment, or straight out, “Settle down, kiddo!”. I’m no stranger to hugging my car either, I’ll openly admit that. But its all in the game of owning a Saab. They’re not perfect machines, but then again, there is no such thing. They will frustrate you, irritate you, puzzle you, but then at the end of the day when you find yourself looking down upon it, you remind yourself how good it feels to turn the ignition on and take off!

And I think Saab has a great future ahead of them. I feel it. Saab has a lot of great people behind the company, and I know with the right investor, they can be restarted. Its going to take a lot of time and money, yes. But when you consider their current and future line up, if the cards are played right, the future can be prosperous. I want to see Saab get into the right hands, of someone who both has a lot of automotive business knowledge, and financing to be able to work through the tough times. This can happen. And I believe us fans can help steer Saab into those hands. They are watching us, and the more we encourage and show what kind of people we are, the more people will listen and want. Sure, there have been a lot of negative reports. But we need not focus on that, negativity never solved any problems.

I believe we have to accept the mistakes that have been made; and the could of, would have, should haves, and move on. We need to start focusing what is in front of us, and what the future holds. That is very exciting, don’t you think? I do! We need Saab around. We need their innovation, safety and reliability. We need a reasonably-priced car that does it all, without having to chop bits of random cars together to make something that’s both comfortable, looks great, and performs well. There are things that Saab does that other automakers cannot do. How many times have you heard someone carrying a refrigerator in their Camry? But I’ve heard it done with a Saab hatchback!

Thank you very much for the warm welcome into the Saabs United family, this is truly an honour and a dream come true for me. I had no idea where this love could take me, and now I am starting to see it. I’m glad I am able to lend support in these troubled times. Go Saab, GO!

The Saab above is not the Saab 9-5 Anne drives but the Saab 9-5 in the showroom of the Saab dealer in Goes (The Netherlands). I`ve made this picture today.

Light on the horizon for Saab?

Good news today! What will happen with Saab? Will it become Turkish or Indian? Here a link to an article from BNR (dutch) about Saab becoming Turkish.

At Saabsunited we`ve found an article about Mahindra to take over Saab;

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India’s biggest sport-utility vehicle manufacturer, is interested in buying at least parts of bankrupt Swedish carmaker Saab Automobile, two people familiar with the situation said.

Mahindra, based in Mumbai, is in the process of reaching out to the two court-appointed administrators who are overseeing Saab’s bankruptcy to possibly buy parts of the carmaker or the whole company, said the people, who declined to be identified because the plans are private. Mahindra has yet to hold discussions with the administrators, the people said.

Roma Balwani, a Mahindra spokeswoman, declined to comment, while Chief Financial Officer Bharat Doshi wrote in a text message that he was in a meeting and wasn’t available to talk. Saab filed for bankruptcy Dec. 19 after running out of cash. General Motors Co. sold the Trollhaettan, Sweden-based company in February 2010 to Dutch sports-car maker Spyker Cars NV, which later changed its name to Swedish Automobile NV. Saab first halted production in March, unable to pay suppliers. Chief Executive Officer Victor Muller said this month that several parties had expressed interest and that Saab still has a chance to emerge from bankruptcy. At least one Turkish company is also interested in investing in Saab, one of the people said. The Turkish government wants the country to have a car brand of its own, and is trying to help a manufacturer take over at least parts of Saab, the person said. Hans Bergqvist and Anne-Marie Pouteaux, the attorneys handling the bankruptcy, didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.

By Ola Kinnander
Bloomberg News

Link to the original article on the site of Bloomberg.

After China, Turkey and Austria, now we have the Indians...

Saab's bankruptcy trustee has rejected a serious stakeholder unheard. It says Lars Carlstrom representing a major Indian automotive group that has expressed interest in Saab.
related
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Late in the afternoon spoke Lars Carlstrom with one of the lawyers responsible for Saab's bankruptcy, Hans L Bergqvist, at the law firm Delphi in Gothenburg.

- I was in contact with them because I represent a major Indian automotive group, which is interested in Saab. An interest I have built up a relationship with for a long time.

rejected

But then ensued, according to Lars Carlstrom, a dialogue in which Hans L Bergqvist first questioned Charles's person, and then placed himself entirely opposed to the interest he represented.

- He asked me if I was the same Lars Carlstrom previously represented Vladimir Antonov. When I confirmed this said Hans Bergqvist: "Then we are not interested."

TTELA have previously reported that Lars Carlstrom was responsible for the Antonov Convers Group in Scandinavia, a post he resigned last fall after it became apparent that Vladimir Antonov was wanted by police in the Baltic states because of the investigation into the tangle that correlate with Antonov banks. Lars Carlstrom is very upset about both the fact and manner of interest in Saab was rejected.

Cancelled meeting

In a correspondence TTELA noted the confirmed bankruptcy trustee Hans L Bergqvist brief that "the meeting with you and your principal January 5, 2012 on the pretext is set."

In a response e-mails expressing Lars Carlstrom "dismay" over the desire to 'risking Trollhättan's future, as a significant player wants to see you to discuss the acquisition of SAAB. "

TTELA have searched Hans L Bergqvist in the evening without being able to reach him.

Below something from Saabsunited:

Well its not just serious, it is very serious. We are not allowed to reveal the identity of the company yet, but we are allowed to reveal some facts about it.

They are of course based in India but acts on a world-wide basis with much more than 100’000 employees worldwide. They are a multi-billion dollar company, that work on multiple fields such as energy, logistics, real estate and of course within the aerospace and automotive industry.

In other words, a VERY serious buyer of Saab!