By Hans Duijn 
The Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam formed the stately decor for the Swedish Chamber of Commerce Master Class Luncheon, held on 7 June 2010 with Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker Cars NV, as honorary guest and key-note speaker. Early 2010 Spyker Cars became headlines news with the audacious acquisition of Saab Automobile AB and Victor Muller was celebrated in Saab-town Trollhättan as the hero who saved Saab from being dragged in the overall bankruptcy of parent company General Motors. From the balcony admired by the attendants of the luncheon, who totalled a very respectable 90, Victor Muller arrived in the new 9-5 with Swedish plates, the first sample from the assembly line of this new Saab flagship model. Tall and with a youthful appearance, Muller (51) captured the attention of the audience with a ‘Hans Brinker’ type of story on the succesful attempt to acquire Saab with a company (Spyker Cars), which represents barely 1% of the size of its take-over target.
Muller, who started his career as a lawyer, specializing in corporate merger & acquisition activities, became an entrepreneur himself in his early thirties through a management buy-out and subsequent sale of the famous salvage & towage company Wijsmuller. Thereafter he invested in and ran various companies, among which the McGregor Fashion Group NV, the revival of the American fashion brand McGregor, which he managed to float to the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1999. Subsequently he turned his attention to Spyker Cars, which was then in its infancy stage. He has invested in the development of this exclusive sports car, for which the name was acquired from an internationally reputable Dutch car brand, which unfortunately ceased to exist in the mid twenties of the last century. He has professionalized the organization and has brought Spyker Cars NV to the Amsterdam Stock exchange. He often described his involvement in Spyker as the ultimate realization of a boyhood’s dream. The acquisition by Spyker Cars of Saab was not an overnight event. General Motors had put up Saab for sale already for some time, but the interest seemed limited.
The large automakers shyed away from a serious bid, deeply involved as they were in their own problems as a consequence of the global economic crisis. A glance of hope came with the approaches by the Swedish sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg. The attempt, however, faltered eventually.
Initially General Motors reacted rather aloof in the negotiation process with Spyker, but a breakthrough came when the US dealer organization of Saab declared itself strongly in favour of the take-over by Spyker. The possibility of large claims brought GM back to the negotiation table. The enthousiasm for the rescue of Saab has been overwhelming, especially, as one can imagine, in the Saab factory in Sweden,with the part suppliers and in the international dealer organizations, but the sceptics also readily made there comments on the future risks of the transaction. The factory had been idle for months, the whole production process had to be restarted. Fortunately the new model 9-5, a completely new design with all the features which built Saab’s unique reputation, was ready for launching. With the current and coming product portfolio renewal the break-even point for the profitable production of cars can be reduced substantially, so that Muller expects the company to become profitable again in 2012.
The ingredients for the renaissance of Saab are entrepreneurship, superior quality and marketing strategy. The quality of the products is warranted by a passionate workforce, extremely happy that ‘their’ Saab has been saved from an inglorious end. It is obvious that Victor Muller brings the entrepreneurship and excellent marketeership to the table. As he pointed out to the audience: ‘Saab is a lifestyle product; once a Saab owner, always one. Unfortunately a large number of Saab people turned their back to the brand in recent years. We count on them to return. I strongly believe in the revival of Saab as a unique quality brand. Social networks will do the rest.’
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