Saab Could be Forced into Bankruptcy Over Collections

Right now may not be the time to splurge on that Saab…whatever you were planning on buying. (They make cars, right? My mom’s Gentleman Caller once asked us what kind of “ride” our rental car was. We gestured vaguely at the driveway and said, “A good one?”) The continually beleaguered auto manufacturer is staring down the barrel at $3.6 million in debt that a group of 48 creditors would like to collect.

The amounts owed range from the relatively minuscule (a publishing company called Kontentan Förlags sure would like their $198) to the not-to-be-sneezed-at: Fasitet PDE is seeking $744,083.

Oh, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers has a dog in this fight, too, to the tune of $104,904.

The Saab Forty-Eight (as they’re being called — by me, anyway) have hired a Swedish collection agency, Kronofogden, in the fight for their money. One stumbling block for Kronofogden out of the gate is: Saab just doesn’t have a lot of money.

There’s worry that, if all 48 creditors are successful, Saab will find itself resorting to bankruptcy to cover its debts. Even worse news for Saab: the Saab Forty-Eight (see how catchy that is?) are only the 48 who chose to join forces through an agency. “The total debt,” the online Swedish newspaper GT.com says, “is many times greater.”