Spyker shareholders approve Saab deal

Shareholders in Spyker Cars NV have approved the $74 million purchase of Swedish automaker Saab from General Motors Co., Chief Executive Victor Muller said on Friday.

The meeting, which was closed to the public, was convened to approve the deal forged two weeks ago.

Muller told reporters on a conference call that the combined company would seek listings on the London Stock Exchange and the Stockholm Stock Exchange, and delist from the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. He also vowed to reach profitability in 2012, although neither Saab or Spyker have made any money in the past decade.

Spyker's Muller has already secured the $50 million needed to close the deal with GM, with the remaining $24 million due in July.

In addition to the cash part of the deal, the new company will also have $326 million in redeemable preference shares issued to GM, $200 million in cash and a 400 million euro ($547 million) European Investment Bank (EIB) loan.

Saab produced just 20,791 cars last year as sales slumped to 39,903 from 94,751 in 2008, but aims to raise production to pre-crisis levels of about 100,000 to 125,000 within two years with the help of a new sales and distribution strategy.

Co-owner is confident that Koenigsegg can rescue Saab

Koenigsegg Automotive believes it can rescue General Motors' loss-making Saab unit, a co-owner of the Swedish luxury sports car maker said.

"We think it is possible (to rescue Saab) and we have several good solutions to bring into Saab," Baard Eker, who holds 49 percent of Koenigsegg, told the Dagbladet newspaper.

General Motors is close to selling Saab to Koenigsegg, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters last week. Saab sought protection from creditors in February and has been granted an extension of its business reorganization until Aug. 20 to line up a new owner and restructure.

"Let me make one thing clear -- we are not buying Saab only to chop it up," Eker said, referring to what he calls "poisonous comments" in Swedish media.

Eker, a Norwegian entrepreneur, said obstacles may still emerge which could potentially stop the sale, but he did not reply negatively when asked about Saab's comments that a deal could be in place next week, according to the paper.

Eker confirmed that several investors are willing to finance the acquisition, but declined to name them or how much money they would contribute.

When asked what was the most important thing that he and Christian von Koenigsegg, the sports car company's founder, could bring in as new owners, Eker said: "Culture and technology. Saab needs to be more innovative."

Eker also said it was not their intention to let "many people go," but declined to be more specific.

Koenigsegg's hand-built super cars are in Forbes magazine's list of the world's 10 most beautiful cars. The company has less than 50 employees and turns out only a handful of $1 million cars a year.

GM, which filed for Chapter 11 protection June 1, put Saab up for sale after deciding to cut its 20-year ties with the brand.

Saab produced nearly 100,000 cars last year, about 1 percent of GM's global output. GM has held talks with a number of potential buyers, including Fiat and Chinese automakers.

GM taps Swedish sports car maker as top Saab bidder, reports say

General Motors has chosen Swedish luxury sports car maker Koenigsegg Automotive AB as the preferred bidder for the Saab brand, news reports said. Koenigsegg and Norwegian investors have signed a letter of intent to take over Saab, Swedish television said today, attributing its report to unnamed sources. "The deal is there now and a few minor details remain," a source told Reuters. The reports follow earlier statements from Saab spokesman saying an announcement on the top finalist could come as soon as this week. GM, which filed for Chapter 11 protection June 1, put Saab into the equivalent of bankruptcy in February after deciding to cut its 20-year ties with the brand. The shedding of Saab underscores GM's intensified global effort to jettison non-performing brands and business lines. Over the last two weeks, the automaker has announced preliminary agreements to sell Hummer to a Chinese suitor and to sell Saturn to Roger Penske's Penske Automotive Group Inc. On Monday, GM said it would terminate its medium-duty truck business after trying to sell it for four years. A deal to sell the unit to Navistar Inc. fell apart. GM spokesman Chris Preuss declined to comment on the Saab bidding. Koenigsegg was one of three Saab finalists named in recent published reports. Bloomberg News, citing one person familiar with the talks, said Koenigsegg was picked because it's an automaker and because it is committed to investing in Saab.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Merbanco, a group of Wyoming investors, is interested in Saab, as is U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert's Renco Group. The FT said GM would provide $500 million in assets and cash, plus production equipment for a new Saab model as well as $150 million of cash already in Saab's account. Under the deal, the new owner is to pay GM back if it succeeds in turning around Saab, the report said. Cash amounts pledged by the three bidders vary, but it is smaller than the amount GM is contributing, the paper said.

New Volvo S60

Concept car previewing 2010 S60 saloon replacement

Volvo has revealed pictures of its S60 saloon concept. The car which will appear at the January 2009 Detroit motor show and give major hints as to what to expect from the 2010 S60, which is only the second version of the saloon - the outgoing car will be a decade old by the time it is superceded.

It has remained on sale virtually unchanged thanks to its well proportioned looks but also due to Volvo pushing funds towards developing a more expansive range - including a new S40, V70, the C30 hatchback/coupe and the all-new XC60 SUV. The bigger XC90 will also be over ten years old by the time it is replaced as the brand concentrates on developing the new S60.

If it looks anything like this concept, Volvo will be onto a winner. Although the suicide rear doors are destined to be lost, the four-door coupe looks, in the same vein as the VW Passat CC, would be sure to stand out alongside more traditional saloon rivals such as the BMW 3-series and Audi A4.

The lines that sweep from the headlights to the back of the car are inspired by Swedish coastlines, apparently, while Volvo says the car will deliver a sporty drive like no other Volvo before. Fingers crossed...

Daimler denies interest in acquiring Volvo

wDaimler has no interest in acquiring Ford Motor unit Volvo, a Daimler spokesman said on Saturday following a magazine report that the German carmaker had examined its Swedish rival.

"We were never interested in Volvo," the spokesman said.

German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that Daimler had carefully looked at a possible deal in recent weeks but had rejected the idea.
Der Spiegel cited no sources for its report, which was released ahead of publication on Monday.

Ford is considering strategic options for the Volvo brand and expects a lot of interest, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said last month.

Volvo has been put up for sale by Ford, which along with its rivals General Motors Corp and Chrysler is trying to survive a deep downturn in U.S. vehicle demand.

A Chinese newspaper last month named Ford's China partner Changan Automobile Group as a potential buyer for Volvo. Ford declined to comment on the report.

Ford and Mazda Motor Corp operate a car venture with Changan's listed arm, Chongqing Changan Automobile, which makes mid-sized Focus sedans and Volvo S40s, among other brands.

Sweden has said it will provide up to 25 billion crowns ($3.20 billion) in credit guarantees and emergency loans to its ailing auto industry but has no plans to buy stakes in Volvo or GM unit Saab.

Porsche raises stake in VW to over 50%

Germany's Porsche Automobil Holding has raised its stake in Volkswagen to more than 50 percent, triggering a mandatory takeover offer for Sweden's Scania as a result.

Porsche's purchase of further ordinary shares in Volkswagen means it now holds a 50.76 percent stake, Porsche said on Monday. It held 42.6 percent previously.

The additional stake of 8.16 percent was worth about 6.1 billion euros ($8.49 billion) on the stock market on Monday, according to Reuters calculations, considering that Volkswagen shares closed at 254.74 euros, down 1.7 percent.

Porsche had initially planned to raise its stake above 50 percent by the end of last year, but a massive short squeeze in late October briefly made VW the world's most valuable company, when its share price rocketed to just over 1,000 euros from 210 euros in two trading sessions.

Porsche's Chief Financial Officer Holger Haerter hence said in November it was "increasingly unlikely" that Porsche would take majority control by the end of December, but added he expected to do so by early 2009 at the latest.

A Porsche spokesman confirmed that the sports car maker still planned to increase its stake in VW to 75 percent at some point this year, given a favorable market environment.

As a result of its stake hike on Monday, Porsche now has indirect control of Swedish truck maker Scania, in which Volkswagen holds about 69 percent of the voting rights.

Porsche is required by Swedish law to make a mandatory takeover offer, but the German sports car maker said it had no strategic interest in Scania and was not interested in acquiring Scania shares.

It said it was not bound by pre-acquisition prices and was only obliged to offer the minimum price prescribed by law.

In December, German industrial conglomerate MAN underscored its long-term strategic interest in Scania, saying it had bought call options on Scania's stock, giving it access to more than 20 percent of Scania's voting rights.

The deal marked another step toward a three-way truck deal that analysts expect to emerge among MAN, Volkswagen and Scania.

Volkswagen is the biggest shareholder in both MAN and Scania.

China's Chery could bid for Volvo

China's Chery auto group is considering a bid to buy Swedish-based Volvo from Ford Motor, state media said today.

The Caijing business magazine quoted sources as saying that Chery has not yet reached any agreement or applied for permission from the government of Anhui, the company's home province.

It said Jin Yibo, an assistant to Chery's chief executive, had ruled out the possibility of buying Volvo, but other sources told the magazine that Chery had already contacted banks and private equity firms about financial backing for a possible acquisition.

Industry insiders estimated that Volvo could cost Chery more than 30 billion yuan (4.4 billion dollars), it said.

Chery produces several lines of passenger cars, mostly cheap compact models, and plans a share offer in Shanghai next year, Caijing said.

Earlier rumors reported in state media had linked the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation to a possible takeover of Volvo.