Saab Sells its Equity Shares to Hawtai

The Swedish automaker Saab seems to be in the news these days for its company shares. Apparently, the company has confirmed on the record that the company has sold up to a 29.9 percent equity share to Chinese automaker Hawtai Motor Group Company Limited. The deal was worth €150 million which includes a €120 million payment deal for 24.6 million shares of Saab, in addition to a €30 million changeable loan. The agreement still needs support from a number of Chinese and European agencies, as well as the European Investment Bank and the Swedish National Debt Office. As stated by Saab, if confirmed, the contract will provide mid-term financing for the company’s functions and open up inroads into the up-and-coming Chinese auto market.

The Chinese company Hawtai was only founded ten years ago, although its two production facilities have a shared production capacity of 350,000 vehicles, 300,000 clean-diesel engines and 450,000 automatic transmissions. In addition the company states about its plans to increass its production capacity to 1 million vehicles by 2015.

In keeping with USA Today, Saab CEO Victor Muller expects Chinese supervisory bodies to approve the pact within next six to 12 months.