Like a shot to the gut from a drunken bud, Koenigsegg’s decision to back out of the Saab sale all caught us off-guard, especially after it looked like the sale was all but a formality.
Then, just like that, the whole deal collapsed.
Now that Saab is back on the market, a lot of folks thought that with no apparent buyer in mind, the future of Saab looked bleaker than most people initially thought.
As it turns out, the Swedish brand may have a few more lifelines up its sleeve. According to Autocar, two investors have come out of the woodwork to express their interest in buying the beleaguered Swedish car brand.
One of these is China’s Beijing Automotive, which, incidentally, is a minority shareholder of Koenigsegg. The other interested buyer is a Wyoming-based merchant bank called Merbanco. If you’ve been following this soap opera for months, you’d know that these two companies were originally part of the bidding wars for Saab, which Koenigsegg won.
Now that it’s dropped out of the picture, Merbanco and the BAIC have stepped up efforts in purchasing Saab, potentially saving it from the chopping block.
Hold on to your nooses, gentlemen. Saab may not be dead after all.
We haven’t reported anything lately on the Saab-Koenigsegg merger, thinking that the deal would be made sooner or later. But now, reports have been pouring that Koenigsegg has done a complete about-face and has decided that it would not be purchasing Saab anymore.
In a statement it made moments after announcing its decision to drop talks with GM (Saab’s parent company), Christian von Koenigsegg said, "We regret that after six months of intense and goal-oriented work we have come to the painful and difficult conclusion that we are not going to be able to carry out the acquisition of Saab Automobile”.
As you can expect, GM took the news rather hardly with a great deal of disappointed. While no tears were shed, GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson didn’t exactly mince his words in explaining the failed Saab transaction. “We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase,” he said. "Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week."
Continued after the jump.
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One of three of Koenigsegg’s CCXR has found itself in South Africa and is now being sold for a “paltry” $5 million.
As eye-whopping as the number is, this particular Trevita CCXR is not like most Koenigsegg supercars you can find anywhere in the world – and even that is an understatement considering you don’t find a lot of these cars anywhere to begin with.
The reason for the exorbitant price tag is because this particular one – along with two others – comes with a diamond-coated carbon fibre finish, which, if you don’t know, is a unique carbon fiber technique where the individual fibers are coated in a diamond finish.
Combine that with the Trevita CCXR’s gargantuan capability to produce over 1000 horsepower and you have a car that is being sold for a cool $5 mil.
The only thing Koenigsegg needs to worry about now is finding someone that’s prepared to shell out that kind of money for a shiny and glittering supercar.
Thanks to Mike S. for the photos!
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The Koenigsegg CCX is one of the rarest automobiles in the world. The Swedish super car maker only produces 25 examples of their mid engine V8 powered 800+ HP speed machines per year, and of all the CCX’s that are created, an even more limited amount of 10 Koenigseggs make it stateside. So if you have ever seen one in person, you can consider yourself to be a very fortunate individual, and if you have ever had the chance to get behind the wheel then you ought to know just how lucky you are to have driven a million dollar super car.
However luck had nothing to do with the NY based dealer who managed to do a little front end damage to this particular blue 2008 CCX. The worst part is that the now partially destroyed super car already had an owner, and when you do any kind of damage to a seven figure vehicle, you can only imagine just how much this little mess up will cost to fix. Not to mention that while destroying the dreams of their client and losing a customer in the process, the dealer who got a little too close to the guardrail also managed to damage a 2009 Porsche 911 GT2 in the process.
Thanks to Antoine Dominic for the photo.
With only three units to be produced, the Koenigsegg Trevita is based on the Koenigsegg CCXR and adds new shimmering diamond carbon fiber finish. "Trevita" in Sweedish means "three whites".
The three cars are fully equipped with Koenigsegg Shimmering Diamond Weave bodywork, double carbon wing, paddle-shift, inconell exhaust system, carbon ceramic brakes with ABS, hydraulic lifting system, infotainment system, tyre monitoring system, chrono instrument cluster and airbags.
Under the hood Koenigsegg placed the same 1018bhp engine. Very special on this model is the exterior paint fully developed at Koenigsegg headquarters.
Press release after the jump.
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After months of negotiations – including an almost deal-breaking episode – General Motors and Koenigsegg have finally reached an agreement over the transfer of the much-maligned Saab brand from the American auto giant to the Swedish supercar makers. GM confirmed that it had reached a stock purchase agreement, transferring Saab to its compatriot, Koenigsegg. While this is the latest significant step undertaken by both parties, the completion of the deal is still subject to a number of issues, not the least of which is how Koenigegg will go about financing this deal.
While the agreement certainly clears up a few potential stumbling blocks, Joran Hagglund, the Swedish government’s main liaison to the auto industry, remains cautious saying that, "The most decisive factor" is whether Koenigsegg can raise additional capital required.” One of the last remaining hurdles before the completion of this sale is finalized is Saab’s loan request, which is estimated at around 500 million Euros, and whether the Swedish government can commit to granting this loan without making any intention of providing state support to the beleaguered auto brand.
In any event, the final decision on whether Saab gets the loan will be handed out when the EIB reconvenes on September 22. In the mean time, the agreement of transfer between GM and Koenigsegg marks as the biggest step undertaken by both brands in completing this deal as soon as possible.
After a few tense days, the air has finally been cleared and Koenigsegg’s impending purchase of Saab is once again on the table.
The confusion started when one of the owners of Koenigsegg – Mark Bishop – unexpectedly decided to sell his shares in the company, which was estimated to be around 22%. The immediate ramifications of his decision caused a firestorm of controversy surrounding Koenigsegg’s intended purchase of Saab and whether or not it would still push through.
Fortunately, an unnamed investor immediately gobbled up Bishop’s shares and as a result, the negotiations to purchase Saab are back on.
Whew!
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It’s been a few months since we last reported on Koenigsegg’s purchase on Saab, thinking that it was a done deal at that point. Apparently, the sale recently hit a pretty stiff wall when reports coming from Sweden said that one key investor may have gotten wet feet regarding the impending purchase.
We don’t know who this key investor is, but apparently, this news is more than just trivial hearsay. Sweden’s state secretary for the country’s industry ministry, Joran Hagglund, said that his office is vehemently contacting Koenigsegg in an effort to get more information regarding the matter.
The situation has escalated to such a degree that all the parties involved, including Koenigsegg, Saab, and the Swedish government, have brought in their best PR people to douse the flames of what could become a monumental collapse of a deal that seemed to be in-the-books only a few months ago.
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It’s always a treat to see a Koenigsegg up and running out on the streets. So when Sportbilen attended the 2009 Action Meet racing event and saw the one only Swedish registered Konigsegg CCR Evolution out on track, then we can all agree that it has our curiosities piqued.
To add more spice to an already smoking hot car, this particular Koenigsegg has been upgraded with a newer engine – the CCX’s 4.7-liter supercharged V8 – that now produces as much as 806 horsepower at 7,000 RPM with a maximum torque of 693 ft-lb at 5,500 RPM.
While we can say that we’re advocates of proper decorum and etiquette, you’ll have to excuse us for this momentary lapse in manners. We can’t help it; the mere sight of a Koenigsegg has us drooling off our mouths.
Video after the jump.
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The impending sale of Saab to supercar makers Koenigsegg has raised a few eyebrows from a lot of people in the auto industry and rightfully so.
The question on everybody’s mind was the motive behind Koenigsegg’s decision to buy a mainstream car brand despite only being a small company that dedicates most of its time and resources on a number of supercars that go for an easy million out on the market.
While talks were still up for negotiations, not a lot of people put too much stock on it until talks began heating up last week and Koenigsegg co-owner came out on the news saying that they’re company has big plans for Saab down the road.
Apparently, one of Koenigsegg’s intentions was to use the resources – most specifically, Saab’s production facilities of electronic vehicles - Saab has accumulated over the years. One of Koenigsegg’s main projects include the production – finally – of its so-called car of the future, the NLV Quant.
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