In September of 2011, Saab parent company Swedish Automobile tried to sell its Spyker division for $44 million to a Connecticut-based hedge fund called North Street Capital. The deal eventually fell through, and Swedish Automobile (also known as Swan) ended up keeping the once-glorious sports car company.
Saab’s recent demise has hit Swedish Automobile hard and has consequently put its future in jeopardy. Reports out of Sweden suggest that Swan owner Victor Muller is looking to sell the Spyker brand in order to avoid having to close it down.
“If Swan is not able to complete a sale of the Spyker business or otherwise secure further financing for Spyker and/or Swan, management will likely not be able to safeguard the continuity of Swan,” said the company in a statement.
Swedish Automobile has issued 2.5 million new shares in an attempt to give itself a short-term lifeline while it waits for potential bidders to speak up and claim Spyker.
To further complicate the situation, Swedish Automobile reportedly lost the three members that made up its supervisory board, leaving only Victor Muller at the top.
All three of them left “as a result of a difference of opinion with Swan’s CEO Mr. Victor Muller as to the funding alternatives available to Swan after the recent bankruptcy of Swan’s subsidiary Saab Automobile AB and the future of Swan and its remaining subsidiary Spyker,” said the company in a statement.
Muller said that negotiations for the sale of Spyker were in progress, but that the company would evaluate every single option on the table, including obtaining further financing and winding down the brand.
