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Saab closing in on deal with Russian, Chinese investors

Filed under: Saab, Earnings/Financials, Spyker

Around the same time that Ake Jonsson stepped down as chief executive of Saab, the Swedish automaker announced its expansion into the Russian and Chinese markets – a vital move if Saab is to increase its global market share. But it’s not just the cars that Saab and its parent company Spyker are interested in selling in these two giant markets. It’s also looking to offload shares in an effort to raise much-needed capital.

The first address is Vladimir Antonov, a man who shares a considerable history with Spyker. The Russian banker and multimillionaire oligarch was once the company’s largest single shareholder and acted as its chairman, and is also the owner of CPP Manufacturing, to which Spyker sold its own sportscar business. After investigations alleged ties to organized crime, however, General Motors stipulated that Antonov had to leave the company before it would transfer ownership of Saab. Those allegations have apparently now been either disproven or swept under the rug as Antonov has now been cleared by both GM and the Swedish National Debt Office to invest as much as 30 million euros in Saab for a 30-percent stake in the company.

Following that revelation, Saab is also said to be closing in on a deal with a major Chinese carmaker, following a similar path that led crosstown rival Volvo to align itself with Geely following its sale by Ford. Among the manufacturers with which Spyker is reportedly undergoing discussions are the Great Wall Motor Co., China Youngman Automobile Group and Jiangsu Yueda Group, all relatively small players even in China’s domestic market. Even so, they could provide the capital Saab needs to continue operating, and if they can, Saab’s certainly in no position to pick and choose.

Saab closing in on deal with Russian, Chinese investors originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 May 2011 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Muller to let investors know in May if Saab will go public

Filed under: Saab, Earnings/Financials, Spyker

saab 9-4x grille

In the past year, Saab has gone from a near-death experience to an automaker searching its audience. The Spyker-owned automaker claims it is looking for about 120,000 annual sales, but it expects to be profitable by 2012. While the company has a long way to go before sniffing those meager totals, Saab owner Victor Muller is still thinking about going public in the company’s home market.

Bloomberg reports that Muller says the company will announce whether it will enter the Swedish stock market at its annual shareholder meeting on May 19. You’re probably wondering why a company would discuss going public at a shareholder meeting. The short answer is that Saab is already present and accounted for on the Amsterdam Euronext. And even with very lean sales totals for 2010 while the company struggled to restart production and reinvigorate its supplier chain, the stock is Amsterdam’s third highest gainer of 2010, with reported gains of 63 percent.

While Muller and company are considering whether to enter the Swedish stock market, the reborn automaker claims to have no intention of diluting shares to raise additional funds. Instead, Saab is considering opening up to both stock markets simultaneously with the potential to switch to only the Swedish market for future investment purposes. Muller says the company doesn’t “foresee any share issue at this time, but who knows, maybe in many years it becomes a vehicle for future funding.”

[Source: Bloomberg]

Report: Muller to let investors know in May if Saab will go public originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: SEC says ex-Delphi CEO Batterberg misled investors

Filed under: Government/Legal

Delphi Logo According to the Detroit Free Press, the Securities and Exchange Commission has accused former Delphi CEO J.T. Battenberg III of intentionally working to hide his company’s financial situation from investors. On Tuesday, an SEC lawyer told the jury in Battenberg’s trial that the ex-Delphi boss made the company’s financial numbers look better than they were in order to secure larger bonuses. The SEC sued both Battenberg and Paul Free, the former Chief Accounting Officer for Delphi, and several other former executives in 2006 for fraudulent accounting. Delphi entered into bankruptcy protection in 2005.

U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn began hearing the evidence against Battenberg, Free and other executives in October, and closing arguments in the case wrapped up on Tuesday. So far, two executives and the company’s former treasurer have agreed to settle with the SEC over allegations that Delphi improperly reported a settlement that the company made with General Motors. Both Battenberg and Free remain as defendants in the case.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Report: SEC says ex-Delphi CEO Batterberg misled investors originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. to limit foreign investors in GM IPO?

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials

GM CEO Dan Akerson - AFP/Getty

According to The Wall Street Journal, members of the U.S. Treasury are worried about General Motors’ upcoming IPO. They aren’t concerned for the automaker’s stock price, or how even how many investors may decide to buy into the company – they’re concerned about what country the money is coming from.

The Journal suggests that government officials are considering whether to limit or select which non-U.S. investors would be invited to be so-called “cornerstone” investors in GM’s IPO. Cornerstone investors are sought out to purchase and hold sizable stakes in a given company at a set share price. Said price is often lower than what the general investing public can secure, the theory being that the cornerstone investors’ presence (and the stability it implies) serves to drive confidence in the company. The fear is that there could be considerable political fallout if, say, some of those cornerstone investors turned out to be from nations like China. Either way, GM will need to firm up its investment plan fairly quickly if it is to allow enough time to court the ‘right’ cornerstone buyers.

As GM readies its IPO pitch, another key element in the company’s talking points will be its long-term stability – including a chief executive officer who plans to stick around a while. New GM CEO Dan Akerson has reportedly told the board that he’ll stay at the helm for two to five years – or perhaps even longer. The manner in which his compensation agreement is structured will likely include incentives timed to take effect over a period of years as a way to show investors that he’s serious about making a longer-term commitment to the automaker’s recovery.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal – sub. req. | Image: AFP/Getty]

U.S. to limit foreign investors in GM IPO? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM to Investors: Internal financial reporting controls are ineffective

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials

General Motors Renaissance Center

Now that General Motors has submitted the necessary paperwork for its IPO to the SEC, Forbes read through the entire 734 page filing and found this curious tidbit: “We have determined that our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting are currently not effective.” And yes, that means exactly what you think it means.

In case you think it’s only cautious puffery, the document goes on to say, “Until we have been able to test the operating effectiveness of remediated internal controls and ensure the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, any material weaknesses may materially adversely affect our ability to report accurately our financial condition and results of operations in the future in a timely and reliable manner.”

And there’s more, but the gist is that GM wants you to know that it might have to shuffle some of its past numbers at some future date. The problem seems to go back to early last year, when new accounting procedures were put in place to please the SEC. The General’s trip to ~~Narnia~~ bankruptcy and back, however, prevented it from fully vetting those procedures, so it can’t be 100% certain that they’re 100% accurate. It could actually just be caution on GM’s part, but nevertheless, some funny things are happening on the way to this IPO…

[Source: Forbes]

GM to Investors: Internal financial reporting controls are ineffective originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Bill Ford admits Blue Oval may lose investors to GM IPO, seems unconcerned

Filed under: Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials

Bill Ford dons sunglasses

Bill Ford, executive officer for Ford Motor Co., seems to be taking a fairly realistic stance when it comes to arch-rival General Motors releasing its IPO. While speaking at the kickoff of this weekend’s Woodward Dream Cruise, Ford said that he was certain that some of his company’s investors would likely move to GM, but he isn’t entirely concerned. Even though Ford stock has slid off from its 52-week high of $14.57 recently, the company’s executive officer said that he doesn’t spend his time fretting over stock prices, preferring instead to worry about steering the company in the best direction possible.

This week, GM filed paperwork to issue an IPO, thought to be one of the largest offerings in America’s history. Until then, Ford had enjoyed the privilege of being the only publicly-traded domestic auto manufacturer after both GM and Chrysler filed bankruptcy in 2009. With a new kid on the block, odds are some money is bound to move toward The General and away from FoMoCo.

[Source: Bloomberg, The Detroit Free Press | Image: Scott Olson/Getty Images]

Report: Bill Ford admits Blue Oval may lose investors to GM IPO, seems unconcerned originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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