Vladimir Antonov Archives

Summary: Saab deals with Pang Da and Youngman

Saab have made several announcements in regard to deals made with Chinese companies Pang Da and Youngman since mid-May. These deals have changed slightly in nature as each new announcement has been made and I thought it might be useful for those interested in Saab business to track the dynamic nature of the deals.

Please note that these are just dot-point summaries and not detailed examinations of the conditions associated with each deal. They are treated this way to quickly and easily present significant changes to the deals where these have occurred.

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May 16 – Initial MoU with PangDa

Memorandum of Understanding signed with Pang Da (non-binding)
Includes a strategic alliance consisting of a 50/50 distribution joint venture (DJV)
includes provision for a manufacturing joint venture (MJV) for Saab branded vehicles as well as for an MJV-owned brand (the so-called ‘child brand’) in China.
Saab Automobile will have up to 50 percent in the MJV, with Pang Da and a to-be-selected manufacturing partner owning the remaining shares.
Pang Da purchase 30million Euros worth of vehicles with an option to purchase 15mil Euro more within 30 days.
Pang Da to take 24% stake in Spyker (subsequently renamed Swedish Automobile) valued at 65mil Euros

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June 1 – Pang Da Advances additional order

Pang Da exercise option to purchase 15mil Euros worth of additional vehicles as per the May 16 deal.

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June 13 – Addition of Youngman to May 16 MoU

Youngman to take 29.9% ownership interest in Swedish Automobile, valued at 136mil Euros
Pang Da retain their right to a 24% ownership interest, however the cost of this 24% investment by Pang Da is raised from 65mil Euros to 109mil Euros because of additional equity to be contributed by Youngman.
Distribution joint venture moves from 50/50 between Saab and Pang Da under the initial agreement to a tripartite DJV – Saab 33%, Youngman 33% and Pang Da 34%
Manufacturing joint venture conditions change to see Saab Automobile and Youngman each have a 45% interest (Saab was to have a 50% interest under the initial agreement) and Pang Da hold the remaining 10%.
MoU is subject to conditions before being confirmed as a binding agreement. Agreement will be subject to regulatory approvals in Sweden and China.

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July 4 – Binding agreement on equity, addition of NPJV

Equity components of previous MoU now converted to binding agreements. These are still subject to regulatory approval, which all parties are working on and expect to receive in coming months.
Parties continue working towards execution of binding agreements for a strategic alliance consisting of a tripartite distribution joint venture and a tripartite manufacturing joint venture for Saab-branded and child brand vehicles in China.
Saab and Youngman make conditional agreement on a 50/50 new product joint venture (NPJV) that will see three new models developed – identified as Saab 9-1, Saab 9-6 and Saab 9-7. Saab will contribute design, development and testing expertise and Youngman will contribute finance.
Agreement on NPJV is also dependent on regulatory approvals, which is expected in a timely manner.

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I hope that helps to clear up the nature and current status of the deals, which have steadily increased Saab’s partnership with Pang Da and Youngman. As noted in the most recent release on July 4, this broad base and increased co-operation is expected to provide better conditions for the entry of Vladimir Antonov into the ownership group, which will only further increase Saab’s stability into the future.

Pang Da visiting Sweden and Saab facility in Trollhattan

An update from the inside……

Pang Da’s visit to Sweden began today. The program commenced in Stockholm, including several meetings with key stakeholders and authorities. Pang Da representatives met the Chinese Ambassador and then, later in the day, had discussions with representatives of the Swedish Government, among them Maud Olofsson. These meetings are important because part of the deal between Pang Da and Saab is dependent on government decisions, from both the Swedish and Chinese sides.

During the day, meetings in Trollhättan also got under way, with Pang Da representatives present and participating.

The Sweden visit continues tomorrow in Trollhättan, where the Pang Da team will make a thorough review of Saab’s operations with a focus on finances and legal aspects. The visit includes both the factory and the technical development center. Tomorrow also sees the start of production in the factory.

Earlier this week, Vladimir Antonov met Maud Olofsson.

“It was a good meeting. The purpose was primarily to establish direct contact and the discussions were conducted in a positive spirit,” says Anna Petre, who is responsible for Saab’s government relations.

In parallel with these meetings, work continues to secure financing for the medium to long term.

Comment on events from Thursday, April 28

Vladimir Antonov

Yesterday the Swedish NDO allowed Vladimir Antonov as shareholder in Spyker, which means that he can become a financier of Saab Automobile if the Swedish government, GM and the EIB also give their approval.

Saab and Spyker are working on many different fronts to secure funding in the short and medium term. Negotiations with various, potential strategic partners, including the Chinese car manufacturers will continue.

Spyker reports Q1 results

Today Spyker presents the first quarter report for 2011. Since Saab Automobile is a major part of Spyker’s results, the major focus in the report is on Saab. Spyker Cars (including Saab Automobile) reported an EBIT of (79.4) million Euro. The report underlines the fact that 2011 is another buildup year for Saab, and Saab assumes a loss for the full year as well. Note that the events of the recent weeks are not covered by the report, as it focuses on the first three months of this year. The first quarter can be summarized as challenging but also showed encouraging sales development.

The report is available here.

Press release: SWEDISH NATIONAL DEBT OFFICE ALLOWS VLADIMIR ANTONOV AS SHAREHOLDER IN SPYKER

The following press release was issued today by Spyker Cars NV, owner of Saab Automobile.

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Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 28 April 2011 – Spyker Cars N.V. (Spyker) confirms the announcement of the Swedish National Debt Office (NDO) to allow Vladimir Antonov as a shareholder of Spyker.

Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker and Chairman of Saab Automobile said:

“This is a great day for our company and for me personally. We worked relentlessly for 11 months to achieve the desired result: restore the reputation of Vladimir Antonov, who made so many valuable contributions to Spyker since 2007 as financier and shareholder. We are convinced he will be able to make such contributions again in the near future and look forward to the decisions of the Swedish Government, General Motors and the European Investment Bank (EIB), following the recommendation of the NDO which was the result of intense scrutinising.”

Vladimir Antonov, Chairman of Conversgroup said:

“I am very happy finally getting the recommendation from the NDO to the involved parties, being a future investor in Spyker. The past months of speculations around me, as an individual investor and my businesses has been exhausting. Clearly this has been a disturbing factor for many of my businesses. Finally we have managed to obtain a clean bill of health and we need to move fast forward to secure the cash flow of Saab Automobile. I hope all involved parties now further take on their responsibility so we can close all processes fast to secure the future of Saab Automobile.”

Spyker and Saab Automobile continue to work on securing funding. Saab Automobile is still in talks with the EIB and all parties involved on a solution to complete the sale of Saab Automobile Property AB (Saab Property). It is not yet certain whether the above parties will be able to fulfil all of the conditions of the EIB and finalize the sale of Saab Property.

In addition, Spyker and Saab Automobile are negotiating equity and debt financing and/or technology licensing with various strategic partners, including various Chinese car manufacturers. No commitments have been received to date.

Comments on events of Wednesday, April 27

Yesterday the discussions between Saab’s representatives and officials from the European Investment Bank, EIB, continued. Saab delivered a counterproposal to the conditions which the EIB have set for the proposed sale of Saab Automobile Property AB. The proposal is now to be considered by the EIB Management Board.

After Tuesday’s meeting with Vladimir Antonov the head of the National Debt Office, Bo Lundgren, made a statement saying that they discussed what the ambition is, if Antonov is approved to act as a financier of Saab. According to Bo Lundgren, the NDO should be able to come to a decision within a couple of days.

In parallel with the dialogues with the EIB and the NDO, Saab has continuous contact with government representatives and is working on many different fronts to secure short and midterm funding. Negotiations with various, potential strategic partners, including Chinese car manufacturing companies, continue.

During Wednesday the plant staff were, for one day, back at their work sites. Employees concerned will be continuously informed via their supervisors about when to go back to work.