Spyker CEO Victor Muller with the B6 Venator.
Dutch sports carmaker Spyker Automobielen has filed for the Dutch equivalent of bankruptcy and is seeking a voluntary financial restructuring.
The company has been struggling to turn itself around ever since its brief and abortive attempt to run Swedish-based Saab fell apart in 2011. Spyker says it “today filed a voluntary petition for financial restructuring in an effort to address certain short-term operational and liquidity challenges.”
Ironically, the announcement was made just as the new owners of Saab sought an extension in their own bankruptcy filing in Sweden. National Electric Vehicle Sweden says it needs the extra time to work out a deal with a new investor that could keep operations at its Trollhattan assembly plant going.
The collapse of Spyker was far from unexpected. The company, founded by Dutch entrepreneur Victor Muller, has been struggling to revive its operations after the failed Saab project. Spyker acquired the Swedish company from General Motors but quickly ran short of cash. With its assembly plant shuttered, it eventually had to liquidate the Saab venture.
”Over the past few years, Spyker has faced a number of serious difficulties and challenges resulting from, among others, the legacy of the F1 era and the acquisition of Saab Automobile AB,” noted Muller, in a prepared statement.
But the one-time Dutch lawyer stressed his hopes of achieving very different results compared to what happened with the collapse of Saab.
“We expect to emerge from this restructuring a stronger, more innovative company that is well positioned for growth and profitability,” he stressed in his statement.
Spyker claims to be developing new products, notably the B6 Venator, that would help it carve out a small niche in the global sports car market.
Under the equivalent of an American Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company would have a moratorium on the payment of its outstanding bills while it secures new lending. It claims to have a deal in the works with “independent financiers…to provide an immediate source of funds to the company.”
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Early on, Spyker was similarly optimistic about its chances of saving Saab. Whether it will be more successful now, however, remains to be seen.
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As for Saab, the carmaker’s primary assets – notably the Trollhattan plant – were purchased out of bankruptcy by NEVS, a Chinese-based consortium, that hoped to start producing battery-powered versions of various Saab models. But the venture started to falter when Chinese funding dried up.
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As happened under Spyker, that led to a shutdown of the Trollhattan plant after only a brief revival of production.
NEVS filed for bankruptcy in August, and was given until November 29th by the Swedish courts to get its finances in order. It is now asking for a three-month extension, claiming to be in negotiations with two Asian automakers that might want to enter into a partnership and resume Saab production.