GM criticized for winding down Saab despite bids to buy brand

General Motors Co. was criticized in Sweden after the U.S. automaker named a restructuring firm to run the winding-down of Saab even as it reviewed several bids which included an offer from Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

"It is irresponsible of GM to move at the same time in two different directions -- both toward a sale and a wind-down," IF Metall chairman Stefan Lofven said in a statement.

GM has been trying to sell Saab for more than a year and is preparing to shut the money-losing brand if it doesn't consider the bids for the the 60-year old company suitable.

In a statement on Friday, GM named consultancy AlixPartners -- already closely involved in GM's restructuring -- to run Saab's liquidation. GM said the process is expected to take several months.

GM also confirmed that it had received several offers for Saab and said it is evaluating the bids. This evaluation is not affected by the appointment of AlixPartners, GM said.

Saab an 'amazing brand'

Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars NV made an improved bid for Saab, while Ecclestone joined forces with Luxembourg-based private investment company Genii Capital to pitch a rival proposal. A group of Swedish investors also scrambled to submit a bid.

Genii Capital, which recently invested in Renault's Formula One team, said it will "aggressively work towards a successful closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the company."

Lars Carlstrom, a Swedish investor who is coordinating the Genii-Ecclestone bid, said the Formula One boss and his partners were keen on buying Saab mainly for the value of its brand.

"What Genii and Ecclestone have found is that Saab is an amazing brand, comparable to brands such as Porsche and BMW," he said. "They love brands and they really value Saab's brand ... They are really supportive and will definitely be able to bring Saab to new heights."

Ecclestone has $2.4 billion fortune

Ecclestone, 79, is one of the wealthiest figures in sport and was ranked 24th in Britain in the 2009 Sunday Times rich list with an estimated fortune of 1.5 billion pounds ($2.4 billion). He has been a leading player in Formula One since he bought the now-defunct Brabham team in 1972.

Spyker is hoping to gain Saab's technical resources and its distribution network, while bringing its entrepreneurial skills to the new group.

Swedish media reports on Friday named Jan Nygren, an ex executive of the aerospace arm of Saab and former senior official in the defense ministry, as the head of one group of Swedish investors submitting a last-minute bid.

Saab spokesman Eric Geers said any decision over its future and the latest round of bids was in the hands of General Motors. "We all hope these bids are strong enough for General Motors to consider them."

Google targeted in e-mail scam

Google's web-based e-mail system, Gmail, has been targeted as part of an "industry-wide phishing scheme".

The firm said that it had immediately safeguarded the affected accounts.

BBC News has seen two lists that detail more than 30,000 names and passwords from e-mail providers, including Yahoo and AOL, which were posted online.

The lists also include details of thousands of Microsoft Hotmail users. Google said fewer than 500 of its accounts had been affected by the scam.

However, the search giant revealed that it had discovered a third list, but would not say how many accounts it showed.

Phishing involves using fake websites to lure people into revealing data such as bank account details or login names.

"We recently became aware of an industry-wide phishing scheme through which hackers gained user credentials for web-based mail accounts including Gmail accounts," said a Google spokesperson.

"As soon as we learned of the attack, we forced password resets on the affected accounts. We will continue to force password resets on additional accounts when we become aware of them."

The firm stressed that the scam was "not a breach of Gmail security" but rather "a scam to get users to give away their personal information to hackers".

'Industry problem'

The phishing scam was originally thought to target just Hotmail users.

It was brought to light when 10,000 Hotmail addresses were posted online at Pastebin, a website commonly used by developers to share code.

The list was reported by technology blog Neowin.

However, a second list of 20,000 names has since emerged containing e-mail addresses and passwords from Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Gmail and other service providers. A third list, which has not been seen by the BBC, was discovered by Google.

This should be a wake-up call to Google and Microsoft to educate their users Carole Theriault Security consultant Phishing attack targets Hotmail

Some of the accounts on the list of 20,000 names appear to be old, unused or fake. However, BBC News confirmed that many - including Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail addresses - were genuine.

Other addresses on the list include Comcast and Earthlink accounts.

It is not clear whether the new lists was part of the same phishing attack that collected the Hotmail addresses or a separate scam.

A spokesperson for Microsoft said phishing was an "industry-wide problem".

"Our guidance to customers is to exercise extreme caution when opening unsolicited attachments and links from both known and unknown sources, and that they install and regularly update their anti-virus software."

Both lists can still be accessed online.

A spokesperson for Yahoo urged consumers to "take measures to secure their accounts whenever possible, including changing their passwords".

Carole Theriault of security firm Sophos agreed.

"Getting access to one password can give someone access to lots of things," she said.

People should change their password on any other site where they use it, she added.

A recent report by the firm said that around 40% of people had the same password for every website they used.

"People need to see a difference between an online bank account and booking cinema tickets online," she told BBC News.

But, she said, blame did not rest with the users of the e-mail services, who likely clicked on a link in a scam message.

"Phishing attacks are very subtle these days," she said. "People do all kinds of tricky things."

Fake websites, which ask for a users login details, can be made to look like those of reputable companies.

"This should be a wake-up call to Google and Microsoft to educate their users," said Ms Theriault.

VW to buy 42% stake in Porsche sports car unit

WOLFSBURG/STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) -- Volkswagen AG agreed today to buy a 42 percent stake in the sports car unit of debt-ridden Porsche Automobil Holding SE in another step toward combining the two German carmakers into a European automotive giant.

VW will pay up to 3.3 billion euros ($4.7 billion) this year for the initial stake in the unit, Porsche AG, paving the way for the creation of an integrated automotive group by the end of 2011, VW and Porsche said in statements after board meetings. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who is poised to run the combined entity and was named head of Porsche SE on Thursday, said the deal marked "a new era" for both companies. "Porsche is a real enrichment for our company's portfolio," he said. The combined company will have 10 brands, adding the Porsche marquee to a stable that already includes Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Skoda, Seat and Lamborghini. To finance the purchase, Volkswagen plans a capital increase of preference shares in the first half of 2010, VW said.

Piech's triumph Porsche's surrender comes at the end of a months-long power struggle that eventually led to the departure of Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking. It marks a triumph for Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn and VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech. Porsche had sought to seize control over Volkswagen -- already Europe's biggest carmaker -- as a way to gain access to key components and technologies it needs to meet stringent new pollution rules. That left it with just over half of VW votes. But Porsche's takeover attempt backfired after it took on more than 10 billion euros in debt, forcing it to seek help from Volkswagen. VW supplies components for about a third of all Porsche cars, including bodies of the four-door Cayenne and Panamera models. VW's powerful labor chief welcomed the agreement. "Today industrial history was made," Bernd Osterloh said. In a further step to alleviate Porsche SE's debt, Porsche's controlling families will sell their automobile trading business Porsche Holding, Europe's largest dealer group, to Volkswagen. The business, with an enterprise value of 3.55 billion euros, will be sold by 2011. Porsche also aims to raise capital by issuing new ordinary and preferred shares, probably in the first half of 2011.

Qatar stake The Porsche and Piech families will remain the largest shareholders in the company to arise from the combination of VW and Porsche SE, Winterkorn said. VW's home state of Lower Saxony, which owns a stake of 20 percent in Volkswagen, will retain the right to block important decisions and to nominate two members of the supervisory board. The completion of the sweeping deal depends on the approval of Porsche creditor banks and a final clarification of structural issues, Porsche said. The deal is set to make the Gulf state of Qatar the third-largest investor in the combined company, VW's CEO said, without specifying how large a stake the state will hold.

Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn to be Porsche SE boss, sources say

Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn is set to also become CEO of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, two people familiar with the matter said.

One source said that Winterkorn wants to "assume responsibility" at Porsche SE, which owns the Porsche sports car company and holds Porsche's 51 percent stake in VW.

The holding company was forced by debt troubles to abandon efforts to seize full control of Europe's biggest carmaker.

The supervisory boards of both German carmakers were poised to address the issue at separate meetings on Thursday, one of the sources said.

Volkswagen's supervisory board is also set to approve the purchase of a minority stake in family-owned Porsche SE's healthy sports car business, Porsche AG, as a first step in integrating the two German carmakers.

At Porsche SE, Winterkorn would succeed Wendelin Wiedeking, who was CEO of the holding company and Porsche AG but departed after losing a power struggle with VW.

Wiedeking's post as the head of Porsche AG was filled last month by Michael Macht.

Two VW supervisory board members told Reuters on Wednesday that Volkswagen and Porsche had broadly agreed on details for a deal to combine two of Europe's most storied automakers.

Volkswagen is set to buy a stake of up to 49 percent in Porsche AG in a first step toward creating an "integrated" automotive group by the end of 2011.

Analysts value Porsche's sports car business, which makes the famed 911 models, between 8 billion and 11 billion euros ($11.4 billion and $15.7 billion).

Porsche, VW May Be Dubbed 'Auto Union'

As Porsche and Volkswagen work out details of their eventual merger, Reuters reports the companies may resurrect the Auto Union name. The moniker was previously used in the 1930s for the company that evolved into Audi.

Porsche and Volkswagen continue to work on a deal.

Porsche and Volkswagenhave broadly agreed on sale terms, and the name Auto Union may be resurrected, Reutersreports.

The new entity could be led by Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, and Porsche would retain some independence — similar to Audi's setup within the Volkswagen Group. Porsche would be the 10th brand in the company.

VW would buy up to 49 percent of the Porsche sports-car business, the first step in an integration of the two companies that would be completed in 2011, according to Reuters.

Auto Union is a famous name that dates to the 1930s, and its cars were legendary racers. The company has since evolved into Audi.

The sale is a reversal after Porsche's attempts to take over its much larger rival, VW, failed.

Fiat approved to buy Bertone coachbuilding business

Fiat S.p.A.'s bid for Carrozzeria Bertone S.p.A. was approved by Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola Thursday.

Fiat will invest 150 million euros ($215.9 million) over three years in the struggling contract manufacturer that has produced models ranging from the Lamborghini Miura to the Volkswagen Polo during its 96 years in business.

The other bidders for the coachbuilder included Italian entrepreneurs Gianmario Rossignolo and Domenico Reviglio.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says that the automaker is interested in Bertone's Turin plant for niche vehicle production.

Fiat declined to say which niche model or models it would make at Bertone's Turin factory. The only detail the company gave was that the vehicles would be sold in Europe and North America.

Fiat has a controlling stake in Chrysler Group and plans to relaunch the Fiat brand in the United States in early 2011. The U.S. relaunch of Fiat-owned subsidiary Alfa Romeo is planned for the end of 2011.

The Italian press has speculated that starting in the second half of 2011 Fiat could use the Bertone plant make everything from convertibles to large sedans.

Rossignolo planned to use the plant to produce up to 10,000 units a year of a luxury sedan and SUV.

Finally got it

The Bertone family lost control of the coachbuilding business when bankruptcy administrators took control in February 2008. The Bertone design business, which remains in the hands of the Bertone family, was not affected by the collapse of the contract manufacturing unit.

This was Fiat's second attempt this decade to take control of Bertone's coachbuilding business. In 2006, Fiat started negotiations to buy a controlling stake in the company. It planned to make a coupe cabriolet for the Lancia brand at the plant.

For undisclosed reasons, the talks between Fiat and Bertone collapsed in spring 2007. Shortly after that, Fiat scrapped plans to make the coupe cabriolet, which was known as the Fulvia.

Bertone, founded in November 1912, is Italy's oldest contract manufacturer. The company stopped volume production in December 2005.

Bertone still employs about 1,140 people, down from the 1,450-person work force it had at the end of 2007.

Volvo S60

Volvo's latest 3-series rival photographed

The Volvo S60, only previously seen in concept form has been snapped (but only just) on a road in England.

The heavily disguised prototype doesn’t give away much about the car but it is expected to look like a slightly toned down version of the S60 Concept that debuted at the Detroit Motor Show.

Onboard technology will include Volvo’s Collision Warning With Full Auto Brake. Several cameras will sense if the car is about to have a collision and will then take evasive action. The S60 also comes with a pedestrian detection system that can sense and avoid pedestrians.

Expect power to come from a fuel-efficient 1.6-litre turbo mated to a dual-clutch transmission. More details will be confirmed as the S60 approaches its expected release date in 2010.

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.

Wiedeking's future is in the balance

Porsche's plan to merge with Volkswagen has intensifed a power struggle that could see the spectacular fall of the sports car maker's CEO Wendelin Wiedeking.

The German press says that Wiedeking faces his Götterdämmerung after his plan for Porsche to take control of Volkswagen, a company 15 times Porsche's size, was abandoned.

Laden with debts of 9 billion euros ($11.99 billion) from its acquisition of 51 percent of VW shares, Porsche Automobil Holding on Wednesday halted its original plan to seize control of VW, which is Europe's largest automaker, by raising its stake to 75 percent.

Instead the Porsche-Piech clan, which controls Porsche, wants to merge their Stuttgart-based sports car business with VW under a new holding company. Porsche would become the 10th brand in VW group alongside units such as Scania trucks, Skoda, Seat, Bentley and Lamborghini.

Winterkorn favorite

It's not clear who will run the new company. German press reports say VW group CEO Martin Winterkorn, 62, is favorite because Wiedeking has made too many enemies with his outspoken attacks on the way VW is run.

“Wiedeking has broken too much china,” said Stefan Bratzel, head of the Centre of Automotive Research at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergish-Gladbach, Germany.

Winterkorn also is a protege of VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who wants Wiedeking and Porsche's Chief Finance Officer Holger Haerter to be fired for amassing huge debts at Porsche, according to German media reports.

Wiedeking admits that a merger with VW is not what he hoped for. “It's not a marriage made in heaven, more a marriage of convenience,” Wiedeking told Porsche's 3,000 employees in Stuttgart on Thursday.

When Porsche first began building up its stake in VW in 2005, Wiedeking upset Wolfsburg's powerful trade unions by calling for “sacred cows” to be slaughtered.

He challenged VW's labor agreement that pays the company's German workers above the industry average and called for the abolition of the so-called VW Law. The law gives the north German state of Lower Saxony where VW is based a blocking minority on strategic decisions because it has a 20 percent stake in VW.

Wiedeking also upset Piech by criticizing as cars, which the VW patriarch had championed, such as the Bugatti Veyron and VW Phaeton.

Until the extent of Porsche's debts became clear in recent weeks, Wiedeking, 56, had seemed untouchable.

He was praised as one of the auto industry's brightest stars after turning Porsche from a bankruptcy candidate into the world's most profitable carmaker. His salary of 80 million euros last year made him Germany's highest paid boss.

Wiedeking loses key ally

Now some of Wiedeking's staunchest supporters are distancing themselves from him.

Porsche's labor boss Uwe Hueck was previously a key ally of Wiedeking's in challenging VW's trade union leaders and the VW Law. Hueck now says he wants a similar law at Porsche to protect its workers..

“I am concentrating on the workforce, the bosses are secondary,” Hueck said.

Porsche's workers are disillusioned. “Porsche is finished. We're VW now,” one worker told reporters at the factory gates.

Lower Saxony and VW labor leaders have threatened to block a VW-Porsche merger unless they win key concessions.

Lower Saxony Premier Christian Wulff insisted on maintaining the state's blocking minority stake, two seats on the supervisory board, and a veto on plant closures. He added that a merger was by no means a done deal.

VW's employee leaders said labor should continue to have a major say in how the new company is run.

Porsche will struggle to dictate terms of how the new company will look, analysts and bankers close to the deal say.

"Volkswagen and Lower Saxony are now in the driver's seat," Credit Suisse analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said on Thursday. "Porsche needs VW's cash, and VW doesn't need Porsche's debt."