Saab plots corporate restructure

Swedish carmaker with aviation heritage seeks court protection from creditors so it can implement a corporate restructure
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Embattled Saab has been punched from pillar to post in the wake of former owner General Motors washing its hands of the Swedish carmaker in 2009, and its prospects now remain as murky as ever.

In the latest instalment of the quirky brand's troubled tale, a Reuters report states Saab is applying for court protection from creditors to enable it to implement a corporate restructuring in a bid to once again become a viable business.

Saab has also announced it would delay the release of its mid-year earnings report from August 26 to August 31. This follows Saab's recent announcement that August salary payments to employees may be late.

Now under the ownership of Dutch group Swedish Automobile NV (formerly Spyker Cars NV), which rescued Saab from bankruptcy as GM prepared to shut it down, the Trollhattan-based company has since last year been running on the proverbial scent of an oily rag.

According to Reuters, CEO Victor Muller has managed to raise more than 100 million euros in loans and agreements since the start of the year – allegedly in part through investment deals with Chinese car distributor Pangda and carmaker Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co – but that's seemingly only given it a temporary lifeline.

The company recently issued a statement that said: "Saab Automobile AB is now working on other options to secure bridge funding which would allow us to stabilise operations, finalise negotiations with suppliers on payment and delivery terms and restart production."

"We have reached agreements with the majority of our production-related suppliers," the statement added.

Saab's Trollhattan production line has been largely dormant since late April, but from this week it's allegedly due to resume production.

Despite its financial woes, Saab has managed to at least partly renew its product line-up and, on the whole, we came away impressed after recently reviewing its 9-5 flagship.

Local sales remain dismal though, as Saab has managed to shift only 98 cars in Australia during the first seven months of this year.

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