Youngman Purchases Spyker Shares, Begins Partnership
Victor Mueller is a determined man, not content to disappear off the automotive scene. Following his work at Saab, he has returned to his original baby – Spyker. Mueller fought to keep Saab alive for quite some time, negotiating with various Chinese companies to try to find a partnership that would save the company. We all know how it ended; Saab went bankrupt and the remains are being purchased by NEVS, a joint investment consortium.
Saab’s last deal was with Youngman Automotive, and Spyker alleges that General Motors sabotaged it. As a result, Spyker has stuck GM with a $3 billion lawsuit for damages. We’ll see how that turns out; GM has asked for an extension in the time it has to respond to the suit. Mueller and Youngman aren’t done working together though – Spyker has announced that the two companies have reached a deal for future products.
Youngman Chief Executive Officer Pang Qingnian commented on the deal, saying: “We have felt all along that a cooperation with Spyker had to be pursued, even after we both unjustifiably lost the opportunity to restructure Saab.”
Before it got involved with Saab, Spyker was focused on growth in the U.S with products like the C8 Aileron. One vehicle that was shown off as a concept was the D12 Peking-to-Paris SUV. It was oft-discussed but never produced due to funding issues. A cash investment by Youngman is aimed at finally bringing it to fruition. Apparently, Youngman is putting in $31 million to produce it,, which doesn’t seem like much. Along with the product investment dollars, Youngman has also bought $12.5 million in Spyker shares. That is good for a 29.9 percent stake, which values each diluted share at a ridiculously-low 6.3 cents each.
More interesting than the D8′s production though is the fact that Spyker has mentioned production of a Pheonix-based vehicle as part of the partnership. The company says that it transferred rights to Pheonix to itself before Saab went under. Youngman say it seeks to carry out its original plan with Spyker, sans Saab. All the best guys!
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Very informative! Thanks for sharing!
It’s such a shame that Saab are going to disappear away from Europe, but at least it’s been given a lifeline by such an exciting company as Spyker.
I’ve got plenty of good memories of Saab, my grandad owned quite a few and always remember how quirky they were back in the day. Shame we’ll probably never see another new one on UK roads.