Saab may have found another Chinese saviour as it seeks financial safety.
The troubled Scandinavian automaker, now owned by Dutch firm Spyker Cars NV, thought it was safe earlier in the month when a deal appeared to have been struck with Hawtai Motor Group. However, this was subsequently blocked after the Chinese Government failed to approve the deal.
Step forward Pang Da Automobile, China's largest car distributor, with an offer worth up to Y1bn (€110m). The deal would involve Pangda purchasing the troubled car brand in two stages. The first being an agreed €30m cash deposit with a further €15m to potentially follow in phase two.
The deal would also see Pang Da take a 24% stake in Spyker Cars itself, with a payment of around €65m which Spyker believes is enough to save Saab for about a year.
As with the Hawtai offer, the Pang Da purchase remains subject to Chinese and Swedish Government approvals, however Spyker COE, Victor Muller, is confident that this will be an easier decision as Pangda is a vehicle distributor rather than a manufacturer.