Chinese group places bid for Swedish firm

STOCKHOLM

The logo of bankrupt Swedish automobile firm Saab is seen in this photo.

Chinese group Youngman has placed a bid for bankrupt Swedish carmaker Saab, Agence France-Presse reported on Thursday, quoting the Swedish Radio.

“A first bid has been submitted for carmaker Saab,” the radio said, adding that several unidentified sources had named the bidder as Youngman.

The radio provided no other details, saying only that it was a multi-billion-kronor bid (1 billion kronor equals $148 million) bid.

Turkish interest

The development comes weeks after Brightwell, a Turkish private equity company, said it is preparing to bid for Saab.

Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News on Jan. 6, Zamier Ahmed, a Brightwell board member, had said the firm was in talks “to acquire the company along with another Turkish firm.” Ahmed had said Saab is a well-known brand, despite its debt load of more than $1 billion.

A delegation from Youngman was reportedly in Sweden this week to try to hammer out a deal, Agence France-Presse said.

Saab was forced to declare bankruptcy on Dec. 19.