Saab files for creditor protection
* Company to restructure to secure short-term funding * Deal for Chinese investment still to be approved * Saab has struggled to pay staff and suppliers...
Saab has filed for bankruptcy protection this morning. The company has been struggling recently to pay its staff and suppliers and hasn't built cars since the beginning of June.
It had signed a joint-venture deal with Chinese car firms Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile in July which it had hoped to secure its long-term future.
However that deal has still to be approved by the Chinese and Swedish governments and Saab's owners have been trying to secure short-term funding pending the deal with the Pang Da and Youngman.
However, in a statement released today, Saab Automobiles said: 'Considering the current limited financial resources, a voluntary reorganisation will entail the best preconditions for using existing resources in the most efficient way.
'The eventual purpose of the proposed voluntary reorganisation process is to secure short-term stability while simultaneously attracting additional funding, pending the inflow of the equity contributions of Pang Da and Youngman.'
Victor Muller, chairman of Saab Automobile, said: 'Since securing the long-term funding through conditional agreements with Pang Da and Youngman, who both support this voluntary reorganisation, we have focused on securing funding to bridge the period until we receive their funds.
'We have concluded that a voluntary reorganisation process will provide us with the necessary time, protection and stabilisation of the business, allowing salary payments to be made, short-term funding to be obtained and an orderly restart of production to be prepared.'
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