Intercultural Business News

Spyker, the Netherlands sportscar maker, has renewed its offer for Saab, giving the Swedish carmaker the prospect of an 11th-hour reprieve.

General Motors announced on Friday that it would close Saab for good, consigning the 60-year-old brand to automotive history, after talks to sell to Spyker collapsed.

However, in a spectacular act of brinkmanship, Victor Muller, Spyker’s chief executive, issued a new offer on Sunday, giving GM until 5pm today to accept.

Will Spyker's Offer Be Enough To Save Saab?

“We are returning to the table with a renewed offer that addresses every known issue brought to light during the initial negotiations, and that has the full backing of the Saab management,” Mr Muller said.

“We have asked GM and all other involved parties to seriously consider this offer. Some 1,500,000 Saabs are on the road today and their proud owners would no doubt welcome the survival of this phenomenal brand.”

Spyker, which is listed on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam, would reveal no more details of its new offer other than that it eliminated the need for a loan from the European Investment Bank by the year end.

GM said on Friday that the failure to secure the loan had been one of the obstacles to concluding a deal.

Read More>Times Online

Strictly Come Dancing judge Alesha Dixon is set to take up a seat in the boardroom after landing a lucrative deal as brand ambassador for gym chain LA Fitness

The R&B singer could pocket a seven-figure salary from the deal - but only if the firm reaches tough targets in a multi-million pound re-launch, as her pay is performance-related.

Dixon, who originally planned to become a PE teacher, has vowed to bring practical ideas for fitness classes as well as attending marketing meetings.

LA Fitness Hope To Gain More Members Through Links With Alesha Dixon

“I want a hands-on approach, not just in the business aspect but also the creative aspect,” she told Sky News.

“I’m a shareholder now in the LA Fitness brand. It gives us both an incentive to move forward. I’m tied to this brand for four years and I want to give as much input as I can.”

The company’s chief executive Martin Long confirmed that his newest employee would play a key part in helping the chain widen its range of gym-goers.

Read More>Sky News

Chinese carmaker Geely, picked as the preferred bidder for Ford Motor’s Volvo unit, is seeking at least $1 billion in loans from Chinese banks to back its $1.8 billion bid.
Three major Chinese banks planned to jointly extend loans to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, including Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Export-Import Bank of China had.

Bank of China is China’s top foreign exchange lender. China Construction Bank is the country’s No 1 property lender. Export-Import Bank of China is a policy lender wholly-owned by the Chinese government and directly led by the State Council.

Will This Be The New Logo For Volvo?

“Money is not a problem for Geely,” said an unidentified source. “They definitely have strong support from Chinese banks and there are a number of private equity funds queuing up to invest in Geely.”

The three Chinese banks mentioned above refused to comment on specific loans to clients.

Hangzhou-headquartered Geely, which means “lucky” in Chinese, is in need of modern and innovative technologies, which may be met by the Swedish brand, to upgrade its car lineup and tap the auto market.

Last month, Volvo’s union leaders held their first talks with Geely but were still waiting to see Geely’s financing plans for the loss-making Swedish carmaker.

Geely reached an agreement last week with Ford on intellectual property right (IPR) issues in its bid for Volvo, clearing a major barrier for the deal.

Read More>China Daily

The future of Saab was in doubt last night after General Motors (GM), its American parent, said that a deal to sell the troubled Swedish carmaker had fallen through.

GM confirmed that the sale of Saab to Koenigsegg, a Swedish manufacturer of sports cars, had been terminated at Koenigsegg’s request.

The failure of the talks raises the possibility that GM may decide to scrap Saab, as it did last month when it said that it would close its Saturn brand after failing to find a buyer.

Is This Logo Soon To Dissapear Form The Streets?

Saab, one of Sweden’s best-known brands, employs 3,400 people in the country. About 3,000 people are employed at Saab’s 87 UK dealerships and 100 at its British headquarters.

 
Without the Saab sale, analysts question GM’s ability to restructure its Opel and Vauxhall operations in Europe. GM wants to raise €3.3 billion (£2.9 billion) from European governments to help to save Opel and Vauxhall after reversing a decision to sell them to Magna, a Canadian car parts manufacturer, and Sberbank, its Russian partner.

Read More>Times Online

An oil boom is under way in California’s agricultural heartland, as evolving tastes and a trend toward healthy fare have transformed a profession as old as civilization: olive production for the extra virgin market.

Gnarly trees picked by hand are being supplanted. This year, California’s olive oil production will top 1 million gallons for the first time, the lion’s share from 8-foot trees planted in hedgerows and mechanically harvested, then pressed into oil within 90 minutes.

California Aims To Break European Dominance

Growers have invested millions laying the groundwork to become a player in the global olive oil market, now controlled by Spain, Italy and Greece.

In the past 10 years, roughly 7.5 million trees have been tightly planted on 12,500 acres, an experiment growers hope will make California olive oil cheaper and fresher than that of their competitors. State officials estimate that in another decade there will be 100,000 acres of hedgerow trees producing 20 million gallons of oil to help sate Americans’ 75 million gallons-a-year thirst — 99.99 percent of it now imported.

“There’s a promising future ahead for this crop,” says Dan Flynn, head of the Olive Research Center at UC-Davis. “With the growth in olive plantings, California could emerge as a world leader in a relatively short period of time. It might take 20 years, but that’s how long it took with the other crops.”

The “other crops” are almonds and canning tomatoes, once the domain of Spain and Italy but now controlled by California growers, who have the economic advantage of producing on large-scale farms.

Read More>Associated Press