Saab, said it would sell its Spyker niche luxury sportscar business to U.S. private equity firm North Street Capital, led by racing car enthusiast Alex Mascioli, for about 32 million euros (about $44 million). Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Swedish Automobile has struggled for months to stave off bankruptcy by seeking new investors and selling off various assets so that it could pay its suppliers and employees and resume production at its Saab plant in Sweden.
Last week, Saab won a reprieve when a Swedish court granted it protection from creditors while it awaits funding from Chinese investors.
Swedish Automobile said net proceeds from the sale of the Spyker sportscar business will be used to pay down its debt to Tenaci, which is the private investment company owned by Victor Muller, chief executive of Swedish Automobile and Saab.
Spyker’s sports cars have appeared in Hollywood films including The Pink Panther and Basic Instinct 2. Only a few dozen are produced each year, with a list price of about 200,000 euros for the C8 Aileron.
Swedish Automobile said North Street, whose managing partner Mascioli is a life-long race car driver, had the resources to take a long-term view on the development of Spyker as a high-end sportscar manufacturer.
Muller will remain chief executive of Spyker after the North Street deal.
“There can be no assurance that the negotiations can be completed successfully and that final agreement can be reached on the above or different terms,” Swedish Automobile warned in a statement.
Amsterdam-listed Swedish Automobile announced in February it had agreed to sell Spyker to CPP Global Holdings, the UK holding company of Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, a former Spyker shareholder, saying the deal could raise about 32 million euros.
But at the end of August, Swedish Automobile disclosed that the deal had been put on hold.
