Category: News

Press Release: ONGOING DISCUSSIONS WITH PANG DA AND YOUNGMAN

Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 21 October 2011 – Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) confirms that a new offer, constituting a direct purchase of the shares of Saab Automobile AB and Saab Great Britain Ltd, was made by Pang Da and Youngman. The parties made the offer during discussions with Swan, referring to changed circumstances since July 2011 when the subscription agreement was signed. Swan declined this offer. Swan has requested confirmation from Pang Da and Youngman that they are able and willing to consummate the agreements that are signed. That confirmation has not been received to date. Further discussions are ongoing.

Yesterday the administrator filed an application to terminate the voluntary reorganization process with the District Court in Vänersborg, Sweden. The regular procedure prescribes a hearing of the arguments of both the administrator and Saab Automobile. Saab Automobile has until 27 October 2011 to reply. The court has informed Saab Automobile that it shall decide on this case on 28 October 2011.

The current developments do not influence the validity of the offer of North Street Capital LP as communicated yesterday.

In view of all developments Swan has decided to publish its Q3, 2011 results on 30 November 2011 instead of 28 October 2011.

Coverage from the last 24 hours of Saab news

A few pieces from the web that I think people should check out as they try to digest the news from today……..

Firstly, there’s an interview with Saab CEO Victor Muller on Radio P4 West, from Sweden. It’s in English.

Lyssna: Saabs vd, Victor Muller, om företagets situation

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From the observer/enthusiast point of view, Life with Saab has summarised the day’s events quite well. It’s a piece of reasoned and measured analysis that I personally think sums up the situation nicely.

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If I can provide a rather basic summary of what’s transpired:

  • Saab had agreements in place with Youngman and Pang Da for the distribution of vehicles in China and the formation of a manufacturing joint venture. Some of these agreements were binding and some still in development. These involved Youngman and PangDa taking an ownership stake in Saab totalling just over 50%. The agreements were subject to approval to the NDRC and this process was progressing well, having passed provincial and local approval with national approval very close to being decided.
  • Mr Lofalk is reported in newspapers as having investigated a 100% takeover of Saab by Youngman and PangDa. This is in spite of the aforementioned agreements, and regardless of the fact that Saab’s reorganisation submission was based on the above agreements, and also without Saab’s knowledge.
  • Saab had a bridge financing agreement in place with Youngman for an amount of 70mil Euros, however there seem to have been complications with this agreement, to the point where Saab could not count on the full amount of the agreement being received in a timely manner. An instalment has been paid.
  • Saab sought and found alternative bridge financing arrangements in the United States, announced yesterday.
  • Despite this deal, Guy Lofalk has indicated that funding is not sufficient to continue reorganisation and has submitted an application for the reorganisation to be stopped. Saab will seek to appeal this and have Guy Lofalk replaced as administrator.

That’s not comprehensive by any means, and does not include all the side shows such as Geely, etc, but I think you should get the picture.

Some further resources:

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Press Release: Swedish Automobile Received Commitment From North Street Capital On Funding

Trollhättan, Sweden: Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces it has received a commitment from North Street Capital, LP (North Street) on the funding of Swan and Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile).

The offer consists of the following transactions:

  • Subscription to 2,386,635 ordinary shares in the capital of Swan at a price of USD 4.19 per share for the purpose of funding the working capital of Swan, Saab Automobile and Saab Great Britain Ltd. The shares to be issued will be paid in full by Friday October 21, 2011.
  • Procurement of a loan to Saab Automobile in the amount of USD 60 million to be collateralized by a first lien on certain assets of Saab Automobile as well as a second lien on the collateral as pledged to NDO. This loan is subject to further documentation. The object of the parties is to finalize documentation no later than Monday October 24, 2011 with subsequent funding within two days thereof.

Swan intends to accept this offer because it has doubts that the bridge funding of Youngman and Pang Da, of which a partial payment has been received, shall be paid in full on 22 October 2011. Immediate availability of funding is necessary to continue the reorganization process of Saab Automobile.

No NDRC decision today

Some internal news from Saab:

Many have highlighted October 14 as a possible date when the NDRC would take its decision regarding Saab’s planned business agreements with Pang Da and Youngman. For third parties it is not possible to know exactly when authorities like the NDRC will take their decisions.

The reason for October 14 spreading the way it has, is an early assumption made by Saab in court documents, based on general process information that Pang Da and Youngman received from the NDRC. The fact that we didn’t receive any decision from the NDRC today has no bearing on the decision process in its entirety and is not something from which we should draw any conclusions.

Pang Da and Youngman are very committed to making our partnership a success as proven by yesterday’s announcement regarding the first payments under our bridge financing agreement with Youngman.

In other words, Keep Calm and Carry On. We can’t control the timing of the NDRC process, we can only make best estimates of when their decision will come, which is what we did in our court documents.

Saab Automobile Update

Trollhättan, Sweden: Management of Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) and Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) confirm that the reorganization is progressing and that a first payment by Youngman under the bridge loan funding commitment as announced on September 12 was received by Saab Automobile.

Further payments under the amended and final bridge loan agreements signed between Youngman and Saab Automobile are expected to be made during this week and by October 22 of this year. It is the intention to repay the bridge loan with the proceeds of the EUR 245 million equity investments by Youngman and Pang Da, which are still subject to approval by relevant authorities and parties which Swan expects to receive during the next weeks.

SWAN, SAAB AUTOMOBILE AND PANG DA RESPOND TO MEDIA REPORTS

Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 12 October 2011 – Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., Ltd (Pang Da) have taken notice of media reports questioning the validity of the partnership agreements between Swan, Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) and Pang Da after Saab Automobile entered into voluntary reorganization. Swan, Saab Automobile and Pang Da underline that these reports are based on a misunderstanding.

News from Asia – Saab 9-5 named COTY in Singapore, 9-3 Griffins arrive and leave in Taiwan

We’ve had some good news from Asia in the last few days. Very encouraging indeed.

On top of the Saab 9-4x being shortlisted for Truck of the Year in the United States, the Saab 9-5 has just been awarded a Car of the Year award in Singapore. The press release:

Saab 9-5 named Car of the Year in Singapore

Trollhättan, Sweden: The Saab 9-5 Sedan 2.8V6 Turbo has been named Car of the Year in Singapore by a prestigious Consumer Guide, published by Wheels Asia. The annual ”Car Buyer’s Guide 2011/2012” ranks all models on sale in Singapore, and the Saab 9-5 was favorably compared with the Audi A6 and BMW 535i in the Executive Sedan class.

– We are very happy, says Jonas Hernqvist, Regional Manager for the Asian markets. The markets in Asia are demanding and Singapore especially so, since it so restrictive when it comes to car imports. Therefore it is particularly gratifying and encouraging that the Saab 9-5 is honored in this way.

This is great news. We have very dedicated dealers and customers in Asia and it’s wonderful to see our vehicle, and the work of our dealer teams there, being rewarded in this way.

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And in Taiwan…..

When Saab had its brief production re-start earlier this year, 45 of the cars built were for the Taiwanese market. These 9-3 Griffins landed in Taiwan just two weeks ago.

Dealers held launch events a few weekends ago and took eleven orders for the Griffin, as well as selling a number of vehicles from stock. It’s another great result for one of our dedicated smaller markets. Taiwanese dealers actually sold 150% of their sales target for September in total.

Congratulations to them. It’ll be great to be able to tell stories like this from the global market in the future.

Press Release: Saab Automobile To Improve Efficiency As Part Of Business Plan Review

Trollhättan, Sweden: Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces that Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) has launched an efficiency improvement initiative as part of a broader review of the company’s business plan for 2012 and beyond, aiming at creating a more flexible and more competitive cost structure for the company. This initiative also reflects the effects of the prolonged production stoppage since April of this year and is an important element of the voluntary reorganization plan that will be presented at a forthcoming creditors meeting.

During the coming weeks, Saab Automobile will identify areas throughout the whole organization where efficiencies can be gained. The initiative will focus on both fixed and variable costs and aims to create a lower and more flexible cost structure within Saab Automobile by eliminating duplication of work, streamlining processes, shortening lead times, improving coordination between departments and simplifying the organizational structure. As a result of this initiative headcount reductions cannot be ruled out. All improvements should be implemented before year-end in order for Saab Automobile to have a new, competitive cost structure for the 2012 financial year.

Press Release: Saab Automobile Voluntary Reorganization Filing Approved

Trollhättan, Sweden: Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces that Saab Automobile AB and its subsidiaries Saab Automobile Powertrain AB and Saab Automobile Tools AB (collectively Saab Automobile) received approval for their proposal for voluntary reorganization from the Court of Appeal in Gothenburg, Sweden today. The purpose of the voluntary reorganization process is to secure short-term stability while simultaneously attracting additional funding, pending the inflow of the equity contributions by Pang Da and Youngman.

The Swedish Company Reorganization Act says that an application shall not be approved unless there is reasonable cause to assume that the purpose of the reorganization will be achieved. In today’s decision, the Court of Appeal has found that such conditions exist, thereby overturning an earlier ruling by the District Court in Vänersborg, Sweden.

As a consequence of the Court of Appeal ruling, Saab Automobile will request for the bankruptcy filings by unions IF Metall, Unionen and Ledarna to be cancelled.

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