SAAB fans everywhere have been keenly interested in the news reports about SAAB’s funding dilemma. After proposing a sale and lease back of the company’s physical property, it was thought that the only hurdle was vetting Vladimir Antonov. But recent news reports are adding another wrinkle to that plan. According to several online articles, the EIB will require that SAAB repay the original loan in 90 days.
But Dagens Industri has also been in contact with their sources within Saab, which tells the newspaper that the EIB set some conditions to approve the deal and these conditions are highly unreasonable. One condition is that the whole loan of SEK 3.6 billion must be terminated within 90 days when the collateral in Saab’s properties is handed back to Saab. —LifewithSaab.com
If this report is accurate, it would seem that the EIB has lost confidence in SAAB’s ability to pay the loan. But how does this jive with the fact that Sweden is backing SAAB’s loan from the EIB? And why would successful banker Vladimir Antonov still want to be a part of the situation if there was no hope for SAAB’s future? Something just doesn’t make sense.