Sweden's Well Known Car Brand Saab Automobile Files For Bankruptcy

20-Dec-2011
The Associated Press reported that Sweden's automobile manufacturer Saab has filed for bankruptcy.Saab is a small car manufacturer that creates distinct quality cars. Unfortunately they could not survive against the competition in the country's global automobile market. They were just too small of a fish and it lead to a bankruptcy filing. 

Saab was previously owned by GM who blocked a deal with a Chinese automotive company that was considered the company's last chance of avoiding bankruptcy. In an Associated Press article it was reported that GM was concerned that their secrets would be leaked to the Chinese company who is considered their competition. GM motors are still used in Saab vehicles and sharing that technology with the Chinese was considered too risky. Not to mention that GM sells a lot of cars in China and they didn't want to threaten this business.

The current owner of Saab is Victor Muller who bought Saab from GM in 2010. Despite his best efforts to revive the Saab brand money ran dry in only a year and he was unsuccessful at securing additional financial investors.

Saab went from selling 133,000 cars in 2006 to selling a mere 27,000 in 2009. The Associated Press reported that Saab currently has 3,000 employees who have been watching the fate of Saab unravel for the past few years.

The form of bankruptcy that Saab filed is sometimes called liquidation. For an individual liquidation is referred to as chapter 7 bankruptcy in Chicago.  This means that everything the company owns will be sold for cash which will be used to pay off creditors. It is possible that a buyer may emerge that wants to bid on Saab as a whole however according to the Associated Press, the company is most likely to be broken up and sold in pieces. There is little value left in the brand for an investor.

According to Chicago bankruptcy lawyers, if Saab was a thriving company that was making money but struggling under some unpaid debts they may have been able to file bankruptcy to restructure the business. This would be like filing chapter 13 Chicago for an individual. They would have been assigned a trustee who would have helped them make payments towards the debts for 5 years after which time the remaining debt would be discharged and the company would get a fresh start while keeping their assets.

Unfortunately for Saab it was too late for restructuring the company and it will be dissolved instead. 

If the quirky Saab brand is broken up it will leave Volvo as the last automobile to represent Sweden.

There are a lot of factors that can lead up to filing for chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy in Chicago. Don't wait until it's too late. Contact Chicago bankruptcy lawyers right away so they can work to help you prevent bankruptcy or determine the most successful way for you to file. Speaking with a qualified attorney today is key.

Chang and Carlin 
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