Spyker and Saab logos

Spyker and Saab logos

Just days after it was revealed that negations with Chinese automaker Hawtai over a rescue plan for Saab had broken down, the Swedish automaker’s parent Spyker Cars has now announced that it's reached a new deal with rival Chinese firm Pangda Automobile Trade Co Ltd, one of China’s biggest car distributors.

The tentative deal will see Pangda immediately buy approximately $42 million worth of Saab vehicles in a single order, and then an additional $21 million further down the track. The deal also calls for the eventual sale of a 24 percent stake in Saab to Pangda for approximately $92 million.

Pangda is currently sitting on a stockpile of cash worth more than $1 billion following an initial public offering in China last month.

Finalizing the deal, however, still requires a lot of work and could easily fail as we saw last week with Hawtai as it requires approval from a number of important stakeholders including the Chinese government, the European Investment Bank and even former Saab parent GM.

However, Spyker CEO Victor Muller revealed at today’s announcement that the deal with Pangda is more likely to prove successful as Pangda is a car distributor rather than an actual manufacturer. This means that the immediate sale of $42 million worth of Saab vehicles is very likely to occur.

Pangda’s interest in Saab is obvious. As a vehicle distributor, a stake in Saab would provide the Chinese firm with a global distribution network virtually overnight. Today’s announcement could potentially pave the way for Pangda to start selling Chinese-built cars in the U.S.

[via Reuters]

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