Spyker Cars NV, the Dutch sports-car maker that’s in talks to buy General Motors Co.’s Saab unit, jumped the most in more than five years in Amsterdam on speculation that the companies may have reached an agreement.
GM considers Spyker’s offer as adequate, and the automakers’ executives met in Stockholm over the weekend to negotiate terms including those related to production plans, people familiar with the matter said on Jan. 22. Swedish state television said today that a deal with Spyker is done. Spyker and GM denied the report.
Saab is among four brands, along with Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer, that the Detroit-based carmaker is unloading to focus on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac in the U.S. after its bankruptcy exit on July 10. European and Swedish authorities may take a week to approve a loan for Trollhaettan-based Saab should GM agree to sell Saab to Spyker, according to Johnny Kjellstroem, a Swedish official who is negotiating the case with the European Union’s regulatory arm.
“As of today we have not changed our direction on the wind-down of the operation,” GM Chairman Ed Whitacre said of Saab at a press conference today. “We do not have a deal to announce this morning.”
Before Whitacre’s comments, Spyker rose 1.65 euros, or 77 percent, to 3.80 euros, the biggest advance since May 2004, when the company held its initial public offering. The shares are up 58 percent in the past 12 months, valuing the Zeewolde, Netherlands-based carmaker at 82.5 million euros ($117 million).
Not Done Deal
At the news conference, Whitacre announced that he will remain GM’s chief executive officer as a search for a CEO is being called off.
The European Commission is set to rule that a Swedish guarantee for the European Investment Bank’s pending 400 million-euro loan for Saab doesn’t violate EU regulations, Kjellstroem said in a telephone interview.
“The Commission has a draft decision, they just really need a confirmation that it will be Spyker” buying Saab, said Kjellstroem, a deputy director at the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communication. “The Commission has an internal process that should take about a week, maybe 10 days.”
Cash, Stock Offer
Spyker offered $500 million in cash and preferred shares in the new Saab, people familiar with the talks have said. A transaction could still fail or be delayed, they have said.
The European Investment Bank, which approved the loan in October based on previous bidder Koenigsegg Group AB as Saab’s future owner, must also sign off on lending involving Spyker, Kjellstroem said. The Swedish government must vote to guarantee the loan.
“It looks promising” that the three authorities will grant approval, he said.
“We are ready to move fast with a guarantee decision,” Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg told Bloomberg Television today in an interview.
European Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd didn’t answer a call to his phone and didn’t immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment. EIB Vice President Eva Srejber, who has been handling the case, didn’t immediately return a message left with her secretary.
‘Not Compatible’
Other bidders included Genii Capital, the private-equity firm that teamed up with Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone; a group headed by former Swedish deputy Prime Minister Jan Nygren; and a Wyoming-based group led by Merbanco Inc. President Chris Johnston.
Genii Capital said today that the “timing of the next stage of the shutdown process at” Saab is “not compatible” with it being able to close a deal to buy the Swedish brand.
“Genii Capital is pulling its bid for Saab, but if the situation were to change significantly, Genii would be interested in further discussion with GM,” Lars Carlstroem, the Swedish investor working with Genii, said by telephone.
Carlstroem said Jan. 23 that Spyker CEO Muller would be “a perfect owner for Saab.”
