Saab Story

What happens when costs exceed revenue? Here you have it. The Saab Story of a niche carmaker with unsustainable operations. However, does the unfavorable flow of costs and revenue mean the company is at the end of the line? Maybe not. What does the interest from China mean? It means that like many other products sold around the world today, the next generation of Saabs may come from China.

Saab, Denied Court Protection, Faces Bankruptcy

On Thursday, a Swedish district court rejected Saab’s bid for protection from its creditors, leaving the automaker with few options other than filing for bankruptcy. The company reportedly owes its suppliers 150 million euros ($210 million).

“The situation is fairly grim,” said Jack Nerad, an executive market analyst at Kelley Blue Book, in a telephone interview Thursday. “I don’t think we’re going to see an 11th-hour rescue. When Saab was orphaned by General Motors and no other car company came in to scoop it up, a lot of us became concerned about its future.”

Saab was previously controlled by G.M.

Victor Muller, the automaker’s chairman and chief executive, announced on Thursday that it would appeal the Vanersborg District Court ruling. In the interim, however, the two largest unions representing the company’s workers would probably file petitions demanding that the company enter bankruptcy.

Saab, with production essentially idled at its primary plant in Trollhattan, Sweden, since April, has 3,700 employees, and unpaid August salaries may be the issue that finally forces the company into bankruptcy.

“If the company itself does not find another solution or seek to put itself into bankruptcy, we could be forced to do so in the next few days,” said Stefan Lofven, head of the IF Metall North Alvsborg union, which representing 1,500 Saab employees, in a statement reported by Reuters. The union will decide within a few days whether to ask that Saab be declared bankrupt, added Leif Hakansson, a spokesman for the union.

Saab had said that a voluntary reorganization would not include its overseas affiliates, including Saab Cars North America, but bankruptcy would impact the ability of those divisions to do business.

Saab had hoped for a lifeline from Chinese automakers Pang Da Automobile Trade Company and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile, which together would have invested 245 million euros and taken majority ownership, but that option had not been approved by Chinese regulators. The Swedish court expressed skepticism that the deal could move ahead in a timely fashion.

“We regret that Saab Automobile is not going to get the time it needs until the funding from Pang Da and Youngman arrives,” Mr. Hakansson said in a statement.

Reacting to the court ruling, Mr. Muller said on Thursday that the company was now “completely unprotected” and asked stakeholders to “hold their horses.”

“We are not dead yet,” Mr. Muller had told a news conference on Wednesday after the submission of the application to the court. The same phrase was used by Timothy Colbeck, the chief operating officer of Saab Cars North America, at an owners convention last month in New Jersey. On Thursday, however, it was not clear what would keep the company alive.

Will China Sell Volvos in WalMart?

The Chinese have shown an impressive ability to build good products and sell them at low prices. Can they do the same with Volvo? Will the new Chinese owners transform this Swedish auto-maker into a company with a pricing strategy that will make the vehicles appeal to shoppers at IKEA or Walmart?

Meanwhile, Ford probably feels lucky to have gotten out of Volvo without having to send it to the junkyard. Little more than a decade ago, Ford bought Volvo for about $6.5 billion. The Chinese buyer is paying less than $2 billion. Let's hope the Chinese succeed.

Geely to buy Volvo from Ford for $1.8 billion

China's Geely inks binding deal to buy Sweden's Volvo Cars from US automaker Ford for $1.8B

March 29, 2010

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Zhejiang Geely Holding Group signed a binding deal Sunday to buy Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo Cars unit for $1.8 billion, representing a coup for the independent Chinese automaker which is aiming to expand in Europe.

The stock purchase agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the third quarter, representatives of the two automakers said as they presented the deal at a news conference at Volvo Cars headquarters in Goteborg, on Sweden's west coast.

The agreement was signed by Geely's chairman, Li Shufu and Ford Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth, and witnessed by Li Yizhong, the Chinese minister of industry and information technology, as well as Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson.

The transaction will be made through a $200 million note, while the remainder will be paid out in cash, Booth said at the Webcast news conference.

"We think it's a fair price for a good business, and yes, we're happy with the deal we've achieved with Geely," he said, adding that his company believes that, under Geely, "Volvo can continue to build its business and return to profitability."

The deal also covers further agreements on intellectual property rights, supply, and research and development arrangements between Volvo Cars, Geely and Ford.

Li, whose comments were translated by an interpreter, described the deal as "a milestone" for both Geely and Volvo, adding his group will make a Volvo CEO public "in due course."

In a statement, Geely said it has secured all the financing necessary to complete the deal, as well as "significant working capital facilities to fund Volvo Cars' ongoing business."

Geely said it aims to keep Volvo's existing manufacturing facilities in Sweden and Belgium, but that it will also explore manufacturing opportunities in China.

"China, the largest car market in the world, will become Volvo's second home market. Volvo will be uniquely positioned as a world-leading premium brand, tapping into the opportunities in the fast-growing China market," Li said.

Ford, which bought Volvo Cars from AB Volvo in 1999 for $6.45 billion, has been trying to sell the unit since late 2008 to focus its resources on managing its core Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands.

As Western automakers unload unprofitable assets, they are finding keen buyers in Asia.

In 2008, Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover brands to India's Tata Motors Ltd. for $1.7 billion, a third of what it paid for them. In addition, General Motors Co. attempted to sell its rugged Hummer brand to a Chinese heavy equipment maker, but is now winding that brand down as the deal collapsed.

China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings has also agreed to buy some powertrain technology from GM's Swedish Saab unit.

Geely, an independent automaker that has struggled to upgrade its image in overseas markets, has long coveted a bigger foothold in Europe and has earlier been rumored to be bidding for Opel and Saab. The long-awaited Volvo acquisition is therefor important for the company, which has gradually built its business with little government support.

Analyst Zhang Xin, with Guotai Junan Securities in Beijing, said Geely has pledged to keep Volvo's factory and business teams in Sweden after the takeover, limiting its leeway to cut costs.

"Reality is always much crueler than what people would wish. Geely wants to build itself as a new 'international Geely,' so they sought a strong foreign brand like Volvo," Zhang said.

"Geely should foresee many difficulties. How will it manage to run Volvo well? How will it deal with the factory and employees? How much more will Geely have to spend to operate Volvo?"

Volvo, whose first car left its Swedish factory in 1927, employs nearly 20,000 workers, most of them based in Sweden. The group, initially a subsidiary of ballberaing maker SKF, was listed on the stock exchange in 1935.

In 2009, it sold 334,808 cars. It currently has 10 models on the global market, with its cross-over XC60 being the best-seller. The United States, Sweden and Britain account for its three biggest markets.