GM to see no Saab bids as board nears shutdown
Thursday, 26 November 2009
STOCKHOLM, Nov 25 (Bloomberg): General Motors Co doesn't expect to find new bidders for Saab and may shut the bankrupt unit after Koenigsegg Group AB canceled a planned acquisition, people familiar with the matter said.
Saab's future will be decided at a Dec 1 GM board meeting, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. While directors might opt to keep the Swedish division, as they did with the Opel unit this month, GM has a contingency plan that calls for winding down the brand, the people said.
"They should just get rid of it," said Tom Stallkamp, industrial partner at buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC, which was part of an unsuccessful bid for Opel in Germany. Saab "really doesn't matter in terms of technology, and there is no synergy like there was with Opel."
Closing Saab instead of selling would still help GM achieve the goal of trimming US brands to four from eight while working to return to profit after a US-backed bankruptcy. A Koenigsegg sale would have protected jobs at Saab while wrapping up GM's affiliation with the brand by year's end.
Saab's future will be decided at a Dec 1 GM board meeting, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. While directors might opt to keep the Swedish division, as they did with the Opel unit this month, GM has a contingency plan that calls for winding down the brand, the people said.
"They should just get rid of it," said Tom Stallkamp, industrial partner at buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC, which was part of an unsuccessful bid for Opel in Germany. Saab "really doesn't matter in terms of technology, and there is no synergy like there was with Opel."
Closing Saab instead of selling would still help GM achieve the goal of trimming US brands to four from eight while working to return to profit after a US-backed bankruptcy. A Koenigsegg sale would have protected jobs at Saab while wrapping up GM's affiliation with the brand by year's end.