Swedish car manufacturer, Volvo has denied claims of buying out their rival Saab. The Chinese-owned manufacturer was recently quoted in a Dutch newspaper as saying that they have not had any talks on buying their rival, Saab and have no talks planned so far.
A while ago, a newspaper had quoted unnamed sources that were close to Volvo, saying that the Swedish government had talked with Volvo cars, which is owned by Geely, about Geely’s interest to bid for Saab.
Spokesman for Volvo Per-Ake Froberg, said that there have been no such talks taking place and that there are no talks planned either. The newspaper had said that the Swedish government was reportedly interested that Volvo bid for Saab as this could mean that a European Investment Bank loan would have a greater assurance of being guaranteed by them to Saab would be repaid.
Saab was faced with a cash defecit in their first year of owning the niche Dutch car manufacturer Spyker, after their sales forecasts for the year 2010 fell short of expectations. The production was also stalled as the suppliers were not paid. However Sweden was responsible for approving this financial deal even though the EIB had not yet given their approval.
The chief executive of Spykar, Victor Muller, refused to comment, according to reports. Geely, which is the parent company of Geely Automotive Holdings, acquired Volvo holdings from Ford Motor in the year 2010. This was the largest foreign car manufacturer acquisition by China. Just a while ago, the chief executive for Saab, Victor Muller, had said that the Swedish auto manufacturer was negotiating about tie ups with a huge range of car manufacturers from China.
