Saab gains protection from creditors, seeks partner

Saab's fight for survival as an independent company might have just begun this morning, but the Swedish automaker has already gained a strong foothold thanks to a Swedish court that granted the company protection from potentially devastating creditors. Now, the soon-to-be-independent Saab says its freedom from General Motors should enable it to gain outside funding.

"Even though we have not been actively searching for new partners, we have had many knocking on our door showing interest in Saab," Saab CEO Jan-Ake Jonsson said at a press conference held in the company's museum in Trollhattan, Sweden.

"I am very confident and I think we have a solid basis for solving this financing issue."

Saab lost about $340 million last year and says it projects a similar loss this year due to the massive slump in demand automakers across the world are facing. The automaker says that finding a partner would be essential for its survival, though no potential suitors have been given.

"We explored and will continue to explore all available options for funding and/or selling Saab," Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson said in a statement released to the media.

GM says it will offer Saab $400 million before it releases control on January 1, 2010, if the Swedish government guarantees a further loan of $590 million. Some analysts, however, are doubtful that the nearly $1 billion would be enough to turn Saab around - and that's what Saab is seeking from a partner.

The Swedish government says it is waiting to hear plans on how GM will set Saab up for independent success. The government wants to hear how GM would contribute the necessary resources to allow for Saab's survival as an independent manufacturer that would still be heavily dependent on GM for its next product cycles.

"If you provide loan guarantees to someone, you must be sure the company has a future," said Joran Hagglund, state secretary at the Swedish Industry Ministry.

Saab is set to launch three new products in the next year, including an all-new 9-5 flagship, a 9-4x crossover and a 9-3X tall wagon. The automaker would be heavily reliant on GM to support the development costs and production tooling for the models, which are all based on GM global platforms.

GM released a statement earlier today indicating that it is "is fully committed to maintaining a viable and successful local and global supplier base during the Saab reorganization," according to Bo Andersson, GM group vice president for Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.

The automaker intends to sell between 120,000 and 130,000 vehicles annually across the world for a sustained period beginning as early as 2010 and a return to profitability in 2011 or 2012. Saab only made a profit once during its 19-year period as a GM subsidiary. Last year, sales dipped below 94,000 for the first time since 1994, pushed down in part by the global market that began to unravel in the fall.