- Spyker Cars, the Dutch-based parent of Saab, has agreed to sell the Spyker brand and luxury sports-car business to a British company controlled by Vladimir Antonov, the billionaire Russian banker.
- The purchase price is $44 million, to be paid out over six years.
- Antonov's CPP Holdings says it is preparing to launch production of the oft-delayed Spyker C8 Aileron in Coventry.
COVENTRY, England — Spyker Cars, the Dutch-based parent of Saab, has agreed to sell the Spyker brand and luxury sports-car business to a British company controlled by Vladimir Antonov, the billionaire Russian banker. The purchase price is $44 million, to be paid out over six years by Antonov's CPP Holdings.
The Dutch company, founded in 1999 and still headed by Victor Muller, will use the money to pay down debt and focus on rebuilding the Saab business, which it acquired a year ago from General Motors. Muller said he expects to rename the Dutch company by May.
CPP Holdings said it is preparing to launch production in Coventry "within a few weeks" of the oft-delayed Spyker C8 Aileron, which was unveiled two years ago at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show. At the time, Muller said he expected to put the car into production by late 2009.
At one point, Antonov, through one of his subsidiaries, owned nearly 30 percent of Spyker Cars and served as chairman. When Spyker made a bid to acquire Saab, GM insisted that Antonov first divest his holdings in Spyker as a condition of the sale.
CPP Holdings has manufactured chassis and body panels for Spyker since the Dutch company launched production of its first car in 2000. Spyker assembly shifted from the Netherlands to CPP's Coventry facility in late 2009.
Spyker sold 36 cars in 2009; no data is available for 2010.
Under Spyker's ownership, Saab sold 31,696 cars in 2010. Muller has said he intends to dramatically increase the brand's global sales to 120,000 units by 2012, and has aggressive plans to rebuild its product portfolio, partly with the help of GM.
Inside Line says: Spyker originally was a Dutch coachbuilder established in the 1880s that built its first car in Amsterdam in 1899, but went bankrupt in 1929. The current company has no connection, other than the name, with the earlier business. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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a1c_scg says:
08:24 AM, 02/26/2011
This is such a shame. While their performance wasn't spectacular, their craftmanship levels was peerless, w/ perhaps exception to Pagani. Their cars were so creative and unique. Not to mention the exclusivity. Hopefully, their new owners will try to to stay true to the car's current image.
a1c_scg says:
08:23 AM, 02/26/2011
This is such a shame. While their performance wasn't spectacular, their craftmanship levels was peerless, w/ perhaps exception to Pagani. Their cars were so creative and unique. Not to mention the exclusivity. Hopefully, their new owners will try to to stay true to the car's current image.
ambee514 says:
08:44 PM, 02/25/2011
is it just me or does 44 mil seem kinda low. I mean isn't that less then they paid for saab?
msmaserati says:
01:24 PM, 02/25/2011
OH, that kinda makes me sad that Spyker is selling to the Russians. BUT I must say I'm excited for Saab. Even during its rough patches lately I've always liked Saab, EVEN when it was owned by GM. Hopefully Muller can work his magic on the once Swedish brand and bring it up to par with new style and mass production.
kawakasaki says:
09:13 AM, 02/25/2011
"We can either give you 40$ mil in cash or give you 34 Bugatti Veyron's"