A Swedish court on Monday gave Saab leave to appeal a lower court’s decision denying it protection from creditors, opening a potential lifeline for the bankruptcy-threatened company. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Saab, owing August wages to its workers and some 150 million euros ($207 million) to suppliers, applied for protection from creditors this month, but was turned down.
The company asked for leave to have the case re-examined, pointing to, among other things, a promise of new funding it received early last week.
The court did not give any further information on its decision to grant leave to appeal.
“We are naturally pleased,” said Saab spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs. “It is an important step in the right direction. We are hopeful.”
The court must now decide whether to overturn the earlier ruling and grant Saab protection from creditors. “It (a ruling) should come soon, hopefully this week,” Gustavs said.
Production at Saab has been more or less at a standstill since April when unpaid suppliers pulled the plug on parts deliveries.
Saab hopes creditor protection will allow it to survive until China’s authorities approve a 245 million-euro investment by car firms Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile and Pangda.
Last week, it agreed 70 million euros in bridge financing with the help of a guarantee from Youngman.
Two of Saab’s own unions and a supplier later asked a court to declare it bankrupt after the car maker’s application for protection from creditors was turned down.
“We continue to work on getting further funding and we are also proceeding with the work to prepare the company for reconstruction,” Gustavs said. “Now we have to wait for the appeal court’s decision.”
