Continue reading Can General Motors Turn to Profitability in 2010?

Can General Motors Turn to Profitability in 2010? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to Bloomberg, General Motors (GRM) is close to announcing a deal to sell its Saab division to Spyker Cars. A person familiar with the matter said that an announcement could come as early as late afternoon in Sweden. In Amsterdam, trading was suspended on the automaker amid the rumors.

Spyker has offered GM roughly $75 million in cash and $325 million preferred shares in Spyker, which would come from the transaction. Reportedly GM would receive $100 million of Saab's existing liquidity.

Continue reading GM to Sell Saab to Spyker?

GM to Sell Saab to Spyker? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The end has come for General Motors's Saab unit, with its 3,400 employees and 1,100 dealers. Or has it?

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that Dutch auto maker Spyker Cars offered a new takeover proposal for Saab. Spyker said Sunday that it hopes the new plan will deal with the obstacles that caused talks to collapse Friday, after which GM announced that it would shutter its Swedish brand.

Continue reading New Bids Offer Glimmer of Hope for Saab

New Bids Offer Glimmer of Hope for Saab originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When it comes to selling companies, General Motors has had some bad luck lately. The company pulled its deal for Opel off the market. Then its proposed sale of Saturn failed (the company is in the process of being liquidated).

As for this week, there was another dead deal: the sale of Saab to Spyker Cars. And yes, Saab will now be unwound.

What happened here? So far, GM and Spyker have not provided any details. Basically, there were some "issues" that couldn't be resolved.

Continue reading Saab Runs Out of Gas

Saab Runs Out of Gas originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Dubai sends jitters throughout the market (S, BBY)

Closing Bell: Dubai sends jitters throughout the market (S, BBY) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading GM's sale of Saab collapses; now what?

GM's sale of Saab collapses; now what? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

China has taken its first major step into the U.S. car market as General Motors announced it had finalized a deal to sell off its Hummer truck brand to Chinese auto manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery.

Under the deal, GM will continue to make the trucks no later than 2010. While a deal has been reached, it is still going to be up to Chinese regulators to approve the deal and decide if the brand can be profitable and fit into the country's overall national strategy to improve energy efficiency.

Continue reading General Motors finalizes Hummer deal

General Motors finalizes Hummer deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading General Motors to sell SAAB to Swedish company

General Motors to sell SAAB to Swedish company originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Socialist Sweden won't save iconic Saab auto company

Socialist Sweden won't save iconic Saab auto company originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson said the company has explored all available options and found a formal reorganization to be the best way to create a "truly independent entity that is ready for investment."

Continue reading Saab files for protection from creditors

Saab files for protection from creditors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The ink is barely dry on the $13.4 billion in "loans" provided by the Bush administration at the end of 2008, but General Motors (NYSE: GM) is already talking about needing more. CEO Richard Wagoner says the company may look to secure additional government cheese in March -- earlier reports had suggested that GM believed the $13.4 billion would be enough to survive through 2009.

How does GM plan to demonstrate viability? It will need to secure broader concessions from the United Auto Workers union and, hilariously, try to convince bond holders to swap their debt for equity in one of the greater cash-burning machines in history. Good luck with that one!

Wagoner also said that GM is still looking to find a buyer for Saab. The company has denied problems in generating interest in the brand among potential buyers -- I'll believe someone is interested in buying Saab when there's a done deal. Similarly, GM has failed to generate any serious interest in Hummer, despite trying really, really hard to find a buyer.

GM's management has been extremely optimistic in terms of its "forward-looking statements," but so far it's all been bluster. Government officials should keep that in mind when GM brass shows up in March to demonstrate a plan for viability.

That didn't take long: GM CEO says he might need more money originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Automobile brands set to disappear forever?

Automobile brands set to disappear forever? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just in case the US Congress will not bailout Ford (NYSE:F) and GM (NYSE: GM), the car companies are turning to the Swedish government to help their Volvo and Saab units. The government there does not want to see a lot of lost jobs, so it might just put up some money to help out the US firms.

According to the FT, "Stephen Odell, Volvo's chief executive, and Saab's managing director Jan-Ake Jonsson have separately spoken to Maud Olofsson, Sweden's industry minister, and other officials about securing funds." The American firms have decided to sell the businesses, so Sweden may need to keep them on life support until that happens.

The move shows how desperate the US car companies are. While they may not be able to get the US government to provide them aid, they can appeal to Sweden on the basis that Saab and Volvo are huge employers in the country. Real trouble for the division could raise unemployment in the Scandinavian country causing it to pour unemployment and other social services capital into its economy,

Americans begging in Sweden. Nice picture.

Douglas A. McIntyre is en editor at 247wallst.com.

GM and Ford: No US bailout, go to Sweden originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) is considering dumping Saturn, Pontiac, and Saab in an attempt to cut costs as it looks at a restructuring and government bailout. According to Bloomberg, "General Motors Corp., working to cut costs to win $12 billion in government loans, is studying whether to shed its Saturn, Saab and Pontiac brands in addition to Hummer, people familiar with the matter said."

It may appear to be a good idea, but it is not.

While there would be some short-term savings in production and labor costs it misses some potential problems. That analysis leaves aside legal agreements GM has with dealers. It also fails to look at what the hundreds of thousand of people who own cars from the three nameplates would do. While GM can provide them service and honor warranties, most of these customers bought cars from the brands because they liked them. The cars were their "first choice."

There is no guarantee that these consumers will stick with another GM brand; they could move to any of the firm's competitors to find autos that are more like the ones they bought from the shuttered GM operations. Or, they could simply be so unhappy with GM for the decision that they would walk away from doing business with the big car company.

Closing brands won't fix GM. Getting a new union contract and cutting debt are the only options.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

GM to dump Pontiac originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.