Mahindra Buying Majority Stake in NEVS, Saab Saved Again?

9 years, 4 months ago - 3 December 2014, Autoblog
Mahindra Buying Majority Stake in NEVS, Saab Saved Again?
National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), owner of Saab, might not be dead yet, because the company is reportedly close to having a new owner with deeper pockets in near future.

The declaration comes from the business's latest request to prolong its reorganization and includes the claim that NEVS has a signed letter of intent from an unnamed Asian automaker to take majority ownership of the beleaguered brand.

While NEVS doesn't specifically name this potential, future owner in its filing, Automotive News Europe cites a SaabsUnited story proclaiming that the suitor is none other than Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra, a development that would confirm months of rumors. The Swedish automaker is reportedly just waiting for the majority investment to be finalized before making an official announcement, and the whole purchase could be complete by February. NEVS also claims that it's still negotiating with a separate, unnamed Asian automaker on a joint venture to co-develop new vehicles.

Assuming the deal goes through, the new owner could regain the rights to the Saab brand, too. According to ANE, negotiations are underway with the Saab AB aerospace business to be able to use the trademark again. NEVS lost that right when it filed for reorganization.

Mahindra has shown interest in owning Saab for quite some time. It was reportedly among the final three bidders for the brand in 2012, and the Indian automaker was allegedly eyeing a stake in NEVS as far back as June.