It’s unclear what, if anything, the move has to do with former subsidiary Saab’s bankruptcy and liquidation, which (for the moment at least) is ongoing. A decision on the liquidation of the former automaker’s assets is expected later this month, and things don’t look promising for Saab’s creditors.
A recent story in The Wall Street Journal listed Saab’s debts at roughly $2 billion, while its assets totaled just $500 million. The largest chunk of debt, nearly $324 million, is held by the Swedish National Debt Office, which will likely recover some of its money via the sale of Saab’s subsidiaries.
The news isn’t so good for Saab’s 3,400 employees, most of whom are unlikely to receive unpaid wages owed. The exception to this may be employees in Saab’s powertrain subsidiary, who could receive a portion of the money they’re due.
Preferred stock in Saab, held by its former parent General Motors, is now likely worthless. That shouldn’t affect GM’s financial performance this year, as the automaker wrote off the value of the shares last year, reserving $100 million to cover Saab receivables and bad debt.
We’ll know soon enough how the last chapter of Saab’s story will end, but this much is already clear: for many of the players involved, there’s no chance of a happy ending.