Chinese car maker Geely has again denied it has any interest in buying Saab or Volvo.
In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Geely said: "Geely has not submitted, and has no plans to submit, any bids concerning the takeovers of 'Volvo' or 'Saab' as stated in recent press articles."
Geely was forced to make the statement after its shares rose more than 13 per cent on the back of speculation it was about to make a takeover bid for one of the companies.
Geely and Fiat said to be bidders for Saab
However, analysts say that the statement could be a bargaining move by Geely's management, as it tries to drive the price of the companies down.
Analysts point to reports suggesting that Geely's top management has met with Volvo executives in Sweden three times in recent months as evidence of this.
They also point out that the statement says only that there are no current plans to make a bid, a situation that could change immediately if the conditions of sale were to become more favourable.
Add your comment