China’s Pang Da on Track to Buy Saab Stake
Pang Da of China on Track to Buy a Stake in Saab Owner
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., based in the northern Chinese city of Tangshan, has paid 45 million euros ($64 million) for Saab cars and plans to invest 109 million euros for a 24 percent stake in Swedish Automobile NV, owner of Saab Automobile.
Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., based in the northern Chinese city of Tangshan, has paid 45 million euros ($64 million) for Saab cars and plans to invest 109 million euros for a 24 percent stake in Swedish Automobile NV, owner of Saab Automobile. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. said it is on schedule to buy a stake in Swedish Automobile NV, the owner of Saab Automobile, after the carmaker halted production because of a lack of funds.
“There’s no change to our previous plan,” Wang Yin, board secretary of Pang Da, said in a phone interview. “Saab is having temporary financial difficulties and the problem isn’t fundamental.”
Pang Da, based in the northern Chinese city of Tangshan, has paid 45 million euros ($64 million) for Saab cars and plans to invest 109 million euros for a 24 percent stake in Zeewolde, Netherlands-based Swedish Automobile, which was previously known as Spyker Cars NV.
Saab first halted production in April amid a payment dispute with suppliers. It restarted vehicle assembly on May 27 after getting a cash advance from Pang Da, only to put the brakes on manufacturing again on June 8. Saab, which General Motors Co. sold in February 2010 to Spyker, ran into a cash shortage after missing sales targets.
Saab and Swedish Automobile are in talks with various parties to raise cash, the company said yesterday in a statement. The options include the sale and lease-back of the factory in Trollhaettan, Sweden.
Not Promising
“The Saab deal isn’t seen as a promising one by industry observers given the potential risks,” Fang Ju, an analyst with China Minzu Securities Co. in Beijing. “There’s little chance for the deal to be approved by Chinese government given the crowded status of local auto manufacturing.”
Pang Da, which raised 6.3 billion yuan ($973 million) in April in an initial public offering in Shanghai, sells 20 car brands including vehicles from Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG (VOW)’s Audi division.
Swedish Automobile agreed on June 13 to sell a 29.9 percent stake to Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. Ten telephone calls to Gao Ling, a spokeswoman for Zhejiang Youngman, asking for comment weren’t returned.
Pang Da’s shares gained 1.1 percent to 29.62 yuan at the 11:30 a.m. break in Shanghai trading, compared with the 1.6 percent advance in the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kae Inoue at kinoue@bloomberg.net
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