Saab owners push sale of Spyker brand in last-ditch survival effort
by The Canadian Press
Swedish Automobile NV, the parent company of automakers Skyker and Saab confirms it’s in negotiations to sell the troubled auto brands and issue new shares
AMSTERDAM—Swedish Automobile NV (SWAN) says it will push on with the sale of the Spyker brand and issue new shares in a bid for survival, in spite of an exodus of its supervisory board.
The company has been in negotiations to sell Spyker after a $41-million deal to sell it to U.S.-based equity firm North Street Capital fell through in September.
Swan has released few details about Spyker’s finances since it acquired the much larger Saab in 2010. The carmaker went bankrupt in December, costing 3,000 Swedish workers their jobs.
Much of Spyker’s debt is held by Tenaci Capital BV, a private company controlled by SWAN chief executive Victor Muller and funded at least in part by Russian tycoon Vladimir Antonov.
SWAN also announced Wednesday that its entire three-member supervisory board, including its chairman, had resigned.
