Filed under: Government/Legal , GM , Saab , Spyker , Russia Vladimir Antonov will soon give up the position of chairman at Spyker because he stood between the Dutch company and its successful acquisition of Saab . Recent reports indicate that a Swedish government investigation tied Antonov and his family to the Russian mafia and money laundering. Those findings helped kill the initial deal between Spyker and General Motors and led to Antonov’s subsequent departure.
Filed under: Europe , Saab , Earnings/Financials , Spyker Spyker-Saab is reportedly passing “Go” and collecting $547 million while they’re at. According to Automotive News , the €400 million loan courtesy of the European Investment Bank (EIB) has received final approval. There’s even more good Saab-related news (that almost feels weird to type) – Spyker shareholders have approved the ” we’re buying Saab ” deal.
Filed under: Wagon , Saab 2010 Saab 9-3X – Click above for high-res image gallery The good news for Saab loyalists is that dealerships have been told they may start placing orders for the Saab 9-3X . The bad news for Saab loyalists is that if the deal with Spyker falls through, that brand-new Saab you are dreaming about will never arrive in your driveway. In a nutshell, dealers are allowed to take orders for the cars, but there’s no pricing information and nothing will be officially submitted until the Saab/Spyker deal closes (as of now, this is scheduled for February 15). The announcement isn’t completely unexpected.
Filed under: GM , Saab , Earnings/Financials , Spyker The long saga of Saab has generated a lot of headlines for us in the past few months. The latest was word that the deal between General Motors and Spyker was initially rejected because of the fact that one of Spyker’s investors was tied to the Russian mafia. It wasn’t until the Antonov Group was bought out, allegedly, that the deal proceeded. Today we received a press release from Spyker giving a few more details about its rationale for buying Saab, and it hints of what’s in store for the brand now that the tiny Dutch supercar maker has agreed to purchase this Swedish stalwart.
Filed under: Podcasts , Hybrid , Government/Legal , Plants/Manufacturing , Audi , BMW , Ford , GM , Mercedes-Benz , Nissan , Saab , Toyota , Spyker , Rumormill Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now! Episode #163 of the Autoblog Podcast is here and Chris Paukert once again adds his insight as he’s fast becoming the fourth regular member of the crew. First up we peek into the Autoblog Garage, occupied this week by a Nissan Versa , Audi S4 , and a Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid . Topics follow, with our first drive of the 2011 BMW 5 Series starting us off before we move on to Ed Whitacre’s new status as official General Motors CEO and get all misty about the uncertain fortunes of Saab ( glad that’s been cleared up .) Toyota’s most recent recall for its throttle issue, the 2011 BMW 335is , and rumors of a 50th anniversary edition Ford Mustang with independent rear suspension finish us off before we take some questions and call it a night. Until next week, hit up Joystiq and Engadget – there’s going to be big Apple Tablet news soon! Let us know what you think of our podcast by dropping us an email at Podcast at Autoblog dot com , reviewing the show in iTunes, filling out our survey , or even leaving us a voicemail on our Google Voice line 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763) .
Filed under: Europe , Government/Legal , GM , Saab , Earnings/Financials , Spyker Could the Saab endgame – no, the real endgame this time – finally be under way? Bloomberg is reporting that financial terms have been agreed to, in principle, between General Motors and Spyker , and that what remains between the two are sorting out production issues. Beyond that, there are still a couple of catches: Vladimir Antonov, Spyker’s Russian backer and company chairman, will reportedly have to leave the company and the Swedish government must agree to guarantee the €400 million ($500 million U.S.) loan from the European Investment Bank. The money deal is that Spyker gives GM $75 million, GM keeps another $100 million in current Saab liquidity, and The General receives $325 million in preferred shares from the new, Spyker-owned Saab company
