Mahindra and Mahindra planning to buy SAAB??

Indian SUV manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra is just looking at the possibility of taking over crisis hit Swedish carmaker SAAB. Spyker had already bid for the ailing carmaker which GM refused. So, are we looking at the next big step after Tata’s acquisition of Jaguar-Land Rover?

The source from M&M is Anand Mahindra’s tweet asking a question as an answer to one of his followers query. When his follower tweeted this query “GM winding up Saab good chance for M&M to take over an international brand at a bargain. He echoed the  same statement to his followers along with this tail , “Well wht do u thnk of d brand?”. This looks like a good proposition to Mahindra as they would be able to gain access to SAAB’s technology and more importantly its wider dealer network in the world. If you count it all together, Mahindra will own an automobile organization that has everything complete, except funds. As reported by Jalopnik.

Mahindra would benefit from SAAB's technology

If we can recall, Mahindra will be entering the US market sometime in 2011-2012 in which case, it can make use of SAAB’s excellent dealer network to sell and service its vehicles. Though it has a partnership with Navistar, there has been no significant progress in the venture. What’s more, Mahindra in association with Satyam and SAAB have already tied up to to develop its operations in India for the global defence and homeland security market. This deal was struck just a month and a half back.

Next 9-5 plan would go ahead if Mahindra acquires SAAB

The deal between Mahindra and SAAB is reportedly worth $400 million. The collaboration with Saab would require Mahindra Satyam and Saab to jointly address the Battlefield Management System (BMS) for the Indian Army. The solution for BMS, proposed by Saab, is field-proven and deployed in many countries. Both parties intend to work together for the Indian BMS programme and would explore globalisation of co-developed artefacts.

With such a deal already underway and Mahindra having an insight into SAAB’s technology, there is no reason why the car maker should not go ahead with acquiring SAAB. Potential problems that M&M might face include re-organising SAAB and managing a global company which they have no experience in. Such things can be overcome though, in the same way Tata did. So what do you think? Should M&M acquire SAAB or not? Send in your comments. We will keep you updated when we get more news