Rumormill: Saab in discussions with Turkey and Mahindra about reviving brand?

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Saab, Earnings/Financials, India

The Great Saab Story of 2011 looks hellbent on running straight on through the new year and well into the future, despite the fact that the automaker has officially gone bankrupt and hasn't produced a vehicle in what seems like ages.

Rumor has it that Saab administrators are receiving interest from some unknown entities from Turkey (with supposed backing from the Turkish government) as well as India's Mahindra in some sort of brand-revival strategy.

As you may recall, General Motors, ex-parent of the Swedish brand, nixed any potential deal with Saab's various Chinese partners, fearing its hard-earned technology could fall into the wrong hands - which is to say, any hands other than SAIC's, GM's official Chinese partner. But that doesn't necessarily preclude Turkish or Indian ownership.

That said, reports from Sweden seem to indicate that Hans Bergqvist and Anne-Marie Pouteaux, the two administrators in charge of Saab, have turned down a request to meet with Lars Carlstrom on behalf of Mahindra. The gist of the gossip grinder is that the administrators don't want to have anything to do with Carlstrom due to his past association with Russian billionaire Vladimir Antonov.

In any case, we'd wager that neither the Turkish concern nor Mahindra would make a full-out purchase of the brand. It seems more likely that Saab's most desirable assets would be its manufacturing capabilities, tooling and in-house technology. Stay tuned for more as this story develops.

Saab in discussions with Turkey and Mahindra about reviving brand? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/30/saab-in-discussions-with-turkey-and-mahindra-about-reviving-bran/

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