Adding another nail to Saab’s coffin, 162 of the automaker’s 188 United States dealers asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Monday to place Saab Cars North America into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The move to put Saab into bankruptcy was anticipated, but automaker’s dealers had been debating whether to use Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 protection. The dealer body ultimately chose Chapter 11 as it allows the dealers to oversee the liquidation process.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy would have left the liquidation process up to an outside appointed trustee who might not have had the dealers’ best interests in mind.
“We filed a [Chapter] 11 just in case a white knight comes out of nowhere and buys Saab’s parent” and would want to reorganize the North American operations, Leonard Bellavia, the lawyer representing the dealers, told Automotive News.
Saab Automobile AB, the parent company of Saab Cars North America, filed for bankruptcy in Sweden on December 19.
