Sweden

Swedish car maker Saab has agreed a rescue package from two Chinese car companies, handing over a majority stake in return for a cash injection to avert a potential collapse, Reuters reported. Saab owner Spyker Cars said on Monday it had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co to take a 29.9 percent stake in the company and Chinese car distributor Pangda (601258.SS) to take a 24 percent stake for a combined 245 million euros ($352 million).

Swedish car maker Saab Automobile said production at its Trollhattan plant was halted Tuesday afternoon due to a lack of components, and is expected to start up again Wednesday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Saab resumed production at Trollhattan on May 27 after a two-month suspension. Production was halted after the auto maker failed to pay its bills and suppliers stopped delivering components. Upon resuming production, the company said it expected initial disturbances as it would take time to get everything running smoothly.

The new board and management at the international property company formerly owned by businessman Seán Quinn will seek to appoint a bankruptcy receiver to the family’s company in Sweden, the Irish Times reported. Mr Quinn and his family won a court ruling in Sweden last month over-ruling the dismissal of Quinn Investments Sweden by the receiver that was appointed by Anglo Irish Bank to its parent Irish company.

Swedish car maker Saab Automobile said Thursday that production at its Trollhattan plant will resume Friday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The Saab plant in Trollhattan has been idle for almost two months because suppliers stopped delivering parts when the car maker didn't pay its bills. Last week, however, Saab's owner Spyker Cars NV, announced a deal with Chinese car distributor Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. that provided Saab with much-needed short-term funding and since then the company has been in negotiation with its suppliers over debt payments and new deliveries.

Financial regulators need to develop stricter rules for dealing with failed banks to assure that shareholders and creditors rather than taxpayers bear the loss, Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority said Tuesday in its yearly Supervision Report for 2011, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported.

Suppliers to Saab Automobile remained reserved Monday after owner Spyker Cars NV said it has found a new partner in China that will provide funds for the troubled Swedish car maker, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. "On paper it looks like a positive first step," said Svenake Berglie, chief executive of the Swedish supplier organization FGK. "From the supplier side, we'll wait and see what happens next." Spyker said Monday it had signed a deal Pang Da Automobile Trade Co.

Saab Automobile owner Spyker Cars NV Monday said it has found a new partner in China that will provide fresh funds for the troubled Swedish car maker, giving investors hope the company can survive after a previous deal collapsed last week, The Wall Street Journal reported. The deal, with Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., will give Saab enough money to restart production and survive for about a year, according to Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller, but Spyker still needs to find other investors to give it a long-term future.

Saab Automobile's future was again cast in doubt Thursday after owner Spyker Cars NV said a EUR150 million ($212.2 million) investment agreement with a Chinese auto maker had fallen apart, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The announcement puts Saab Chairman and Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller under intense pressure to come up with another deal fast. Saab's plant in Trollhattan, Sweden, has been idle since production was halted six weeks ago after suppliers stopped delivering parts because they hadn't been paid.

Saab's new partner Hawtai defended itself against claims reportedly made by a top Swedish diplomat that raised doubts about the Chinese automaker's ability to salvage the Swedish car brand, Agence France-Presse reported. In a deal unveiled on Tuesday, Hawtai is set to inject 150 million euros ($223 million) into cash-strapped Saab through a partnership including joint ventures in manufacturing, technology and distribution.

Saab Automobile AB said Monday it has agreed to a strategic partnership with China's Hawtai Motor Group, just hours after Saab owner Spyker Cars NV secured EUR30 million ($44.6 million) in short-term funding that will enable the Swedish company to restart production, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported.