Friday, 22 July 2011 at 16:11, Reuters, Stockholm
Car production at Saab has been almost completely halted since April due to a lack of parts. (REUTERS)
Ailing Swedish carmaker Saab came under further pressure on Friday when a supplier asked for one its subsidiaries to be declared bankrupt for failing to pay a small debt.
Car production at Saab, rescued from bankruptcy in early 2010 by Netherlands-based Swedish Automobile , has been almost completely halted since April due to a lack of parts. The parts problem arose due to unpaid bills to suppliers.
"We got fed up when they never got back to us. This is a great deal of money for us," Lars Thunberg, chairman of the SwePart Verktyg AB company which filed the application, told Reuters.
The amount due is about 5.9 million Swedish crowns ($934,000) for tools, according to the bankruptcy filing released by the Vanersborg district court in west Sweden.
"More than one week has passed from the summons and payment has not yet been made. Saab Automobile should therefore be considered insolvent," SwePart said in the document.
Saab has its home in the town of Trollhatten, in the same region, and the bankruptcy filing was against Saab Automobile Tools AB. A Saab spokesman told ANP-Reuters that the company was working hard to find a solution and assumed one would be found.
The court usually rules on a bankruptcy application around two to three weeks after the document is handed in, a court official said.
Swedish Automobile Chief Executive Victor Muller declined to comment. Shares in the firm were down 22 per cent at 1108 GMT.
Saab's cash crunch began as it missed sales targets last year after being bought by Swedish Automobile, formerly Spyker, from GM for $400 million.
The production plant, which has now been sold and leased back to raise funds, had been due to re-open in early August, but Saab on Thursday pushed that back to August 29 at the earliest as it continued talks with suppliers.
The financing problems have led Muller to carry out a hectic search for cash.
As well as the property sale and leaseback, Saab has inked deals with Chinese car distributor Pangda and carmaker Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co.
Russian financier Vladimir Antonov is also still waiting in the wings.
But the process of raising funds and getting in new shareholders has been complicated by the fact Saab has to get approval from former owner General Motors, the European Investment Bank and the Swedish state.
The EIB and Swedish state are involved as Saab borrowed money from the EIB, with Sweden as guarantor.
The Chinese investors also need approval from Chinese regulatory authorities.
Your comments