AMSTERDAM (Reuters) — Spyker, the Dutch sports car maker that acquired Saab from General Motors in 2010, is suing the American automaker for more than $3 billion, accusing it of deliberately bankrupting Saab by blocking a deal with a Chinese investor.þþSaab Automobile stopped auto production in May 2011 when it could no longer pay suppliers and employees, and it filed for bankruptcy in December.þþ“G.M. never intended to allow Saab to compete with it in China,” Spyker said in its complaint, which was filed in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.þþ“When Saab found a way to secure liquidity and continue as a going concern with the help of Chinese investors, G.M. was determined to scuttle the deal by any means necessary,” Spyker added.þþA G.M. spokesman, Dave Roman, said the lawsuit was “without merit.” He added, “We will vigorously defend the company against these baseless allegations.”þþSpyker’s chief executive, Victor R. Muller, said G.M. “never thought we would survive.”þþ“Well, Spyker’s still here,” he said. “They assumed Spyker would end up in the graveyard with Saab, and obviously that didn’t happen.”þþFor months, Mr. Muller said he tried to pull off a rescue deal with various Russian, Middle Eastern and Chinese investors, including Pang Da Automobile Trade and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile, both of China.þþG.M., which operates in China in a partnership with the state-run automaker SAIC Motor, effectively blocked potential deals late last year by saying it would stop supplying vehicles and technology to Saab’s new owners. Saab filed for bankruptcy months later and stopped producing cars.þþSpyker said in the lawsuit that the agreement for G.M. vehicles and technology ran through 2014 and was not subject to termination “for convenience” by either company.þþ“G.M.’s actions had the direct and intended objective of driving Saab Automobile into bankruptcy,” Spyker said.þþMr. Muller told reporters in a conference call that the $3 billion claim was based on what Saab would have been worth if a deal with Zhejiang Youngman had gone ahead.
Source: NY Times
