The Chinese firm that General Motors stopped from investing in Saab has made an offer to buy the now-bankrupt automaker in its entirety, a move that has irked some receivers who think the company is more valuable in parts.
The receivers who are dismantling the automaker’s operations say that Saab’s parts – its engineering offices, some of its technologies and its factory in Sweden, among other entities – are worth more individually than any offer likely to come in for the whole unit.
But that didn’t stop Zhejiang Youngman Lotus from offering 3 billion crowns, or just short of $450 million, for Saab.
Youngman says that it wants to restart production of Saab’s 9-3 midsize range and it eventually wants to build a Lotus sports car under license in Sweden. As Youngman’s extended name implies, the company has a close relationship with the Malaysian owner of British sports car icon Lotus. Youngman also says that it is working with Chinese brand SAIC, which builds cars with GM in China.
GM remains closely intertwined with Saab, even though the Swedish brand no longer exists as a carmaking entity. Youngman’s offer to buy Saab includes its 9-3, which rides on an older GM-derived platform and is thus exempt from the Michigan automaker’s refusal to license its technologies. GM made it clear late last year that it would not approve any sale of Saab to a Chinese firm if the platforms that underpin the Swedish brand’s newest models, its 9-5 and 9-4x, were included.
Youngman’s offer would also include access to a new Phoenix platform that was under development when Saab declared bankruptcy. The Phoenix platform doesn’t rely on GM technology, but it would still require about a year to be made production-ready.
While Saab’s receivers are pushing for the dissolution of the company’s assets, it’s worth noting that the single largest creditor is Sweden’s Debt Office, which might place more emphasis on reviving the carmaker and the jobs it would provide the country’s industry.
