FORMULA ONE tycoon Bernie Ecclestone and partner Genii Capital made a last-ditch effort to buy General Motors’ Saab unit as the US car-maker presses ahead a wind-down of the Swedish brand.
Genii Capital, the Luxembourg-based private-equity firm that agreed to acquire a majority stake in Renault’s F1 team last month, submitted a cash offer yesterday, said Lars Carlstroem, the Swedish investor working with Genii.
Dutch super-car maker Spyker Cars put in a revised bid.
Forbes's 2009 list estimates Mr Ecclestone and his family's net worth at $3.7 billion.
After two attempts to sell the 72-year-old Saab brand failed in the past two months, GM chief executive Ed Whitacre said this week that the Detroit car-maker was proceeding with a decision to close Saab and that no qualified buyer had emerged.
Saab’s board met yesterday and decided to liquidate the car-maker.
“It’s a good brand that has probably been neglected by the current owners,” Mr Ecclestone (79) said yesterday. “We don’t own it yet, so let’s see what happens.”
Mr Ecclestone, a former second-hand car salesman, made his fortune by building Formula One into a $1 billion series since taking control of the television rights in 1981. He sold most of his 25 per cent stake in the business to CVC Capital Partners in 2005, remaining chief executive of the sport that he runs from London.
In 2007, Mr Ecclestone bought Queens Park Rangers, a second- tier London soccer team, with former series team manager Flavio Briatore for £14 million.
Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal took a 20 per cent stake four months later.
Genii said it would bid for a majority stake in Saab together with Mr Ecclestone.
In a statement yesterday, GM said it had picked AlixPartners to supervise an “orderly” wind-down of Saab and the process could take “several months”. – (Bloomberg)
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