GM Announces Saab Windup Will Begin in January, 2010
Despite hopes for a last minute sale of the Swedish automaker, Saab and GM have announced that Saab will be shut down, starting in January. GM had hoped to sell Saab to Spyker Cars NV, but the deal collapsed at the last minute for reasons that GM would not disclose.
GM and Dutch sports-car maker Spyker decided there was "no point in carrying on" after encountering issues that couldn't be resolved, GM Vice President John Smith said on a conference call today. He declined to elaborate on the sticking points.
Closing Saab caps more than a month of reshuffling of GM's European operations. On Nov. 3, the Detroit-based automaker reversed plans to sell the Opel unit and opted to retain it, and Koenigsegg Group AB backed out of a Saab purchase agreement three weeks later, creating an opening for Spyker.
"If these folks from Spyker were serious, they would have been in the running earlier on," said Michael Robinet, a CSM Worldwide Inc. analyst in Northville, Michigan. "Brands, manufacturing and technology are not just things you can sever off very easily."
GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre said Dec. 15 he would shutter the unit unless he had a sales accord by month's end. Trollhaettan, Sweden-based Saab was among four U.S. brands targeted for disposal as GM focuses on Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC after its July 10 bankruptcy exit.
The deal was apparently very close to closing, but the tight deadline and the complexity of the deal is what doomed it, according to
Spyker CEO Victor Muller. He told Bloomberg in a text message how disappointed he was that the deal fell through, saying "We were so incredibly close. I have no words."
GM says that Saab will start an orderly wind down in January, and will continue to honor warranties and provide service and spare parts.
