SAAB Weekend: Notes from the Saab world
Plan B for Trollhättan.
Victor Muller was legendary for his plan B. Muller is history. The current plan B for Trollhättan comes from the Fourier transform. If it is not possible for the administrators to find a complete solution for Saab, then the state will intervene. The Innovatum and (Saab) Combitech are already operating LeanNova, a development and engineering company with former Saab employees. Also in Vicura, a Saab spin-off in the field of drive technology, Fourier transform has meanwhile entered.
Fourier Transform CEO Per Nordberg announced his interest in the Saab prototype workshop, infotainment development and test laboratories over the weekend. On Friday one had already expressed interest in the manufacturing facilities. One has not made an offer to the administrators, but is watching the situation very closely and is in permanent coordination with the administrators.
Per Nordberg is thus in position against all investors who want to break down factories and build in China new. Noteworthy for our restrained Swedes, who always want to live in consensus. Volvo has submitted ambitions and a corresponding offer. Volvo acts against national interests and currently sits between the chairs. In China, the car manufacturer from Gothenburg is traded as a foreign company. In Sweden, the Chinese Volvo owners are acting against Swedish interests. No nice situation!
If Per Nordberg pursues its plan further, then in the end the Swedish state has united the complete Saab authority. The Saab spare parts supply in Nyköping is already being influenced by the state, now the development and production facilities are added. Swedish knowledge should not migrate to other countries.
Still it is a plan B, still everything seems to indicate a complete sale. It is first and foremost a strong political signal and a warning to all who want to exploit the Saab legacy. But there are also interesting possibilities that suddenly appear in Trollhättan. Maybe you should think ahead, think about what motivation could be behind it. Because suddenly the Swedish state would be able to develop and produce innovative cars, which it does not want in the long run or in the medium term. A new beginning for Trollhättan?
Welcome to Reality - Part I
Saab has not had it easy in the last few years. Any other brand would not have survived the last decade. Saab has at least the 9 life of a cat. Saab is a rough diamond, which should be carefully cut. Under GM rule, the Swedish cult brand was consistently neglected. The owners from the Netherlands put it one step further. Tortured the mark by every possible negative headline. That has left its mark. Since 2001, the brand value is steadily declining, says an ALG study. A surprise is not, for the Saab comeback it takes a long breath.
Studies and statistics are one side. Life has its own truths. Saab is extremely alive and has a great following!
Welcome to Reality - Part II
Hamburg is on the Elbe and has a large, loyal Saab community. Frankfurt is located on the Main and is slowly but rapidly catching up in terms of Saab. A Saab meeting was announced in the main metropolis on Friday, and around 20 participants came. Saab fans from northern Hesse, northern Bavaria and from the Mainz area met to talk about classic and current Swedish cars. The “hard core” from Frankfurt weakened somewhat, but there were new participants.
Wolfgang had organized a small Saab boutique, for the participants there were fan articles at special prices.
The current topic on Friday was the unresolved fate of the Saab-Zentrum Frankfurt and the Saab workshops in the region. The future of the dealership in Fechenheim is still uncertain. The clock is ticking fast and loud, an investor would be ready to board, but there are no clear signals. Different economic interests of those involved do not make it any easier. In the worst case, the gates close at the 31.03. forever.
It would be more than a pity, not just for the staff. Because in the greater Frankfurt area there is a large Saab community that deserves a competent base. But maybe there will come a solution, I would be happy.
The activities of the community are diverse. A visit to the International Saab meeting in Spa is on the plan, a joint Spessart exit in early summer is one of the next activities.
As always, my thanks go to Wolfgang, who organizes the monthly meeting, and also to Ralf, who is more and more involved. It doesn't work without them! The round only broke up shortly after midnight. That speaks for a successful event!
The next Frankfurt Saab meeting will take place at the end of March. We are looking forward to it!
Text: tom@saabblog.net
It really doesn't seem to be an advantage if everything goes on behind closed doors - any scuffles could happen more easily that way. I think it's more believable and more transparent to approach things the way Youngman did. Here both the amount of the bid and the planning (at least roughly) have been made public.
Secrecy usually has a negative aftertaste. It's not just about the advantages that individual investors or administrators want to envision - there are dealers and Saab fans around the world who finally want to see where the journey is actually going.
Greetings from Schleswig-Holstein
Julie
If we assume that the requirements for freedom from discrimination also exist in Sweden and that the evaluation of the bids must be comprehensible and that there is a right of appeal and inspection for all parties, then one can understand the effort and restrictions.
Let's see what tomorrow's press conference brings - after the long time of processing, a statement about complete takeover would actually be a little more specific.
Fortunately, there were no quick fixes like VM - on the other hand, overstretching the processing time for the well-known reasons would be at least as disadvantageous for the continued existence of SAAB.
Unfortunately I can only agree - the words really changed enough over the course of months.
It can not really be true that a squad of 3 supervisors and Xnumx as many other lawyers are not able to crystallize in now over 50 months a suitable investor (especially since their own information even several well-known bidders have made bids) ,
Even the patience of the most loyal SAAB supporters should not be overused - as Ulrich rightly pointed out, any further delay would be harmful. The global SAAB community finally wants to see action!
I believe that one can only estimate the procedure if one has seen the effort of large tenders (eg WTO, or already generally published in Handelsblatt). In several rounds it is about measurable criteria to determine the best candidates to win the bid, and then enter the actual round of negotiations.
And remember, bankruptcy trustees need a binding offer and must weight and rate the business case (s) according to predetermined criteria. It takes time to create the criteria catalog alone. Whether there are comparable cases, I doubt it.
In addition to your comments.
There is such a beautiful saying. Words have changed enough, we want to see action.
Everything else harms SAAB and his friends.
UB
Who can be trusted in terms of his activities in SAAB cars?
For my part, I do not trust the trio of administrators or Mr Per Nordberg - any confidentiality agreements between possible investors and the trio could also turn out to be extremely disadvantageous. The public is always groping in the dark!
At the weekly press conferences with the trio as a journalist you should “dig a little more” - what has been publicized so far in terms of investors is actually like no information at all. Basically you could do without these press conferences completely!
The whole thing is in my eyes so far only a huge Gemauschel. Thus, neither the investors nor the trio can deal with the interested public.
DR