Offloading Saab, like most celebrity break-ups, may prove to be very expensive. The Swedish brand which filed for bankruptcy last month is well on its way to finding a new owner. While ditching the unprofitable automaker may be good financial decision in the long term, the separation could cost GM up to $1 billion in the short term.
In GM's annual report for 2008, the company said "We anticipate that we will no longer consolidate Saab beginning in the three months ending March 31, 2009, and anticipate recording a significant loss which could exceed $1.0 billion on de-consolidation."
Meanwhile, Saab is working on a three month, court-supervised restructuring process that started in February. Managing Director, Jan-Ake Jonsson, has said the brand intends to identify a new owner in the next two months. GM will only continue to fund the brand until January 1, 2010 and the Swedish government will not provide any aid until a long-term owner has been found.
Source: Bloomberg.com