Sweden

The Swedish labor union, Unionen, which represents 1,000 of Saab Automobile's 1,600 unpaid white-collar employees, said Tuesday it will send its first payment requests this week, giving the troubled car maker only a few days to find the money to pay wages and avoid bankruptcy, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Salaries were due to be paid July 27 but when no money arrived, the union began gathering any members' pay slips that hadn't been honored in preparation for sending payment requests.

Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov is working on a plan for Saab to pay back a loan from the European Investment Bank, the lender which he says has vetoed his proposal to buy into the ailing carmaker, Reuters reported. Antonov has been waiting in the wings to take a stake in Swedish Automobile , the listed entity that owns Saab, but his spokesman said on Thursday that the EIB had decided not to approve the Russian as a shareholder. "We are working on a way to be rid of the EIB loan," Lars Carlstrom said.

Swedish car maker Saab Automobile AB must pay its workers within 14 days to avoid bankruptcy, the general counsel at labor union Unionen said Wednesday after the cash-starved company failed to pay employees on time. The union, which represents 1,000 of Saab Automobile's approximately 1,600 white-collar employees, has started gathering members' pay slips that haven't been honored to prepare requests for payment that will be sent to Saab Automobile. When Saab Automobile receives the requests, likely sometime next week, it will have seven days to pay the claims.

Cash-strapped carmaker Saab said on Monday it had reached deals with many suppliers to settle debts as it struggles to secure parts and resume production, Reuters reported. Saab, owned by Netherlands-based Swedish Automobile , has scraped together 61 million euros ($88.5 million) in short-term funding in recent days. But it needs to get supplies moving again so car assembly can resume, and investors are worried about its prospects after it said last week production will not restart until Aug. 9.

Sweden's National Debt Office Tuesday said it has given its all-clear to Saab Automobile's request to sell 50.1% of Saab Automobile Property AB, with the final decision on the matter now resting with the government, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The NDO considers the Swedish government to have enough collateral to cover the guarantees for Saab Automobile's state-backed loans in the European Investment Bank, even without the shares in Saab Automobile Property.

Saab Automobile owner Swedish Automobile NV said Wednesday it secured a €25 million ($35.9 million) bridge loan from hedge fund Gemini Investment Fund that will allow it to restart production soon, The Wall Street Journal reported. With the convertible bridge loan, the sale of real estate and an order for cars from an unnamed Chinese buyer, Saab Automobile this week has secured €66 million in funding.

Swedish Automobile NV Tuesday announced a partial sale and lease-back agreement on Saab Automobile's real-estate assets as the car maker continues its search for cash to pay workers and suppliers to enable it to restart production, The Wall Street Journal reported. A consortium of Swedish real estate investors, led by Hemfosa Fastigheter AB, will purchase 50.1% of the shares in Saab property for 255 million Swedish kronor ($39.6 million). Saab Automobile will enter into a lease agreement with Saab property for a duration of 15 years.

Swedish Automobile NV on Monday secured another short-term lifeline when an unidentified Chinese company bought 582 Saab cars for €13 million ($18.4 million) in cash, money the company wants to use to pay employee wages and some of the unpaid bills it owes its suppliers, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, the news immediately drew skepticism from supplier organization FKG, which said it wouldn't be enough to cover both the wage bill and supplier payments and wouldn't allow Saab to restart car production. The financial situation has been growing steadily worse at Saab.

A Swedish labor union Thursday threatened to force car maker Saab into bankruptcy proceedings over workers' unpaid wages, The Wall Street Journal reported. Union IF Metall said it now is gathering its members pay slips that haven't been honored in order to prepare requests for payment that will be sent to Saab Automobile. When Saab Automobile receives the requests, likely sometime next week, it will have a week to pay the claims. "If it does not have the money at that point, there is only one thing left to do," said Berko Davidovic, lawyer at IF Metall.

The family of Seán Quinn have moved to protect their international property empire from Anglo Irish Bank by issuing new shares in seven subsidiaries in Sweden to a company controlled by them, the Irish Times reported. Seven subsidiaries of Quinn Investments Sweden, the holding company behind the family’s properties in Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and India, have issued new shares to a company called Indian Trust AB, which they also control.