China’s Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. will pump more than half a billion euros ($709 million) into Saab, aiming to return the struggling carmaker to profit by 2014. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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The plans were outlined in documents submitted to a Swedish court, which ruled on Monday after a meeting with creditors, that Saab’s reconstruction could continue, although about 15 percent of the 3,400-strong workforce will eventually have to go.
Pang Da and Youngman, which agreed last week to buy Saab for 100 million euros from current Dutch owner Swedish Automobile, have set their sights on sales of up to 55,000 Saab cars for 2012 and have promised a volume of up to 205,000 units per year longer term.
The plans come a year after another Chinese company, Geely, bought Saab peer Volvo from Ford Motor Co.
Saab sold almost 32,000 cars in 2010 before running into cash flow problems earlier this year, when production lines ground to a halt after unpaid suppliers stopped delivering parts. Saab has not produced cars for months and has been under court protection from creditors to stop bankruptcy filings.
Under the rescue plan, the Chinese investors will provide a 50 million euro bridge loan and 610 million in long-term financing from 2012.
