Pang Da owes consultants $8M for Saab bid
Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., a major Chinese auto distributor, owes up to $8 million (50.6 million yuan) to two foreign intermediaries for advising it on the unsuccessful bid launched last year for Swedish carmaker Saab Automobile.
The two intermediaries are UK-based law firm Linklaters LLP and Swiss investment bank UBS Securities Co., Economic Observer, a Beijing-based newspaper, reported.
Pang Da owes each intermediary about 25.3 million yuan, according to the newspaper.
Along with Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co., a private Chinese automaker, Pang Da contracted in November to invest in Saab and build Saab vehicles in Sweden and China. But its bid was vetoed by General Motors, which holds Saab's preferential shares.
Pang Da already has paid dearly for its abortive bid for Saab. The 45 million euros (376.7 million yuan) it advanced in September to buy Saab vehicles was largely wiped out after Saab was declared bankrupt in December.
