Swedish govt receives new Saab financing plans

• Source: Gasgoo.com
• [08:44 September 09 2009]
• Comments

Luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg has presented the Swedish government with a new plan for financing its purchase of Saab Automobile GM.UL, a government official said Monday.

State Secretary Joran Hagglund told Reuters the plan no longer involved any extra loan from the Swedish state on top of guarantees for funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB). He declined to comment on the details of the plan.

"They have presented us with a plan .... We will look at it from our side and decide how credible it is," Hagglund said.

"As I understand it, they will present information on the matter in the coming days."

Sweden's Dagens Industri business daily reported late on Monday that a Chinese car manufacturer would be going in on the Saab deal as part owner, quoting an unnamed source as saying that it has helped cover what is understood to be a 3 billion Swedish crown ($420 million) gap in financing for the purchase.

"You should look into GM's circle of partners in China when you are looking after who is putting money into Koenigsegg Group," the source was quoted as saying in the paper.

Dagens Industri added that there was a big possibility that the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) is the Chinese investor.

Hagglund said the Swedish government was still negotiating with Koenigsegg on a possible guarantee for a loan to Saab from the EIB, funds which are seen as vital for the Koenigsegg deal to go through as well as for Saab's survival.

Koenigsegg struck an accord in June to buy Saab from US carmaker General Motors, backed by US and Norwegian investors. In August, GM and Koenigsegg said they had a deal ready but questions regarding financing remained.