Merbanco Out of the Running for Saab, Spyker In?!

The breakneck pace of automotive news happening over the past few days continues today. Yesterday, on the conference call with General Motors Chairman (and now interim Chief Executive Officer) Ed Whitacre, it came out that GM would be considering offers for Saab until the end of December.

For those hoping for Saab to continue on, that was good news. It seems as if the most promising bidder though, Merbanco, is now out of the running according to Automotive News.

SaabsUnited had conducted an interview with Merbanco's CEO a few months ago that was very encouraging. Reports have indicated Merbanco was very serious in moving forward.

GM is currently going through the process of narrowing down bidders in hopes of a quick sale.  However, Merbanco wasn't one of the bidders invited to move forward in its effort to purchase Saab, according to Merbanco CEO Steve Johnston.

Enthusiast website Saab History posted a statement from CEO Christopher Johnston with his thoughts:

“As most of you know, we ride with the brand, the fit was good, and were up to the challenges ahead. It is now time for us to depart the field and support the company and its outstanding people.

We are grateful to all of you, fellow Saab enthusiasts and the Saab team for the support you have us. It will never be forgotten. Heartfelt thanks, Ryan and friends for your support.”

What a disappointing development - I was really hoping Merbanco would get Saab. Meanwhile, the list of potential bidders for Saab grows, with (shock alert!) small Dutch supercar manufacturer Spyker expressing interest.

Koenigsegg was an unlikely bidder, and now Spyker comes as just as much of a shock. Here is the text of their statement:

"In response to market enquiries, Spyker Cars confirms that it, together with its shareholder Convers Group, has expressed an interest in Saab Automobile AB. If and when we are able to comment further, we will do so but we are unable to provide more information at this time."

To add more to the drama, Autocar is reporting that Fritz Henderson's exit as GM's CEO could have something to do with his desire to just close Saab.

Apparently, the last straw was the deal falling through with Koenigsegg. Henderson also advocated selling Opel, and both are positions that have been at odds with the GM Board (and common sense!).