Monday, 30 January 2012 at 15:23, Bloomberg
Saab has offered 22 Gripen jets to Switzerland at a cheaper price than Dassault Aviation. (REUTERS)
Saab AB, which won a tentative Gripen jet fighter order with Switzerland, said final negotiations may take all year and that it’s “natural” that rival Dassault Aviation SA is still fighting for a deal.
“It’s not surprising they haven’t given up,” Erik Magni, a Saab spokesman, said today by phone. It’s “part of the game” that Dassault is still competing, he said.
Saab and Switzerland are holding negotiations that probably will “take up all of 2012,” Magni said, adding the country’s parliament has yet to make a decision and that the nation may hold a referendum on the issue.
Dassault made a fresh attempt to sell its Rafale fighter to Switzerland, offering 18 of the aircraft for 2.7 billion Swiss francs ($2.94 billion) after the government picked Saab in November, a newspaper reported, citing a letter sent to politicians.
The offer is about 400 million Swiss francs cheaper than the price Saab set for 22 Gripen jets Switzerland agreed to buy, the newspaper reported. Dassault initially demanded 4 billion francs for 22 Rafale jets. The new offer reduces the number of planes and adapts the jets more to Swiss requirements, the report said.
Dassault spokesmen didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
Saab fell as much as 2.7 per cent and was down 2 per cent at 145.1 kronor at 11 a.m. in Stockholm. Dassault was up 0.8 per cent in Paris.
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