This second payment is worth $24 million plus interest, with the money coming from internal sources. Spyker says the payment has been made without any increase in external debt and no share issue which would have caused dilution of existing shareholders.
"The early payment of the second and last installment underlines our desire to finalize the transaction with GM as soon as it was possible, enabling management to fully focus on the future of the group and the realization of Saab's business plan," Victor Muller, Spyker CEO said in a statement.
The completion of the sale puts an end to over a year of struggles for the Swedish brand, which in 2009 came, several times, within inches of its demise. GM struggled, for months, to find a buyer for the brand and even announced, towards the end of last year, it will wind down Saab due to the lack of buyers.
Under the terms of the deal signed in February, GM will retain preferred shares in Saab worth $326 million, while Spyker received a 400 million loan, guaranteed by the Swedish government.
The way in which the Spyker-GM deal went down should be considered an example for Ford, in its attempt to shed the other major Swedish manufacturer, Volvo. Scheduled to be sold to Chinese Geely, the deal Ford made for its unit caused Muller to step in last month and criticize the lengthy sale process which may endanger Volvo's future.
Google News