A CONTROVERSIAL American billionaire who made his fortune buying failed US companies is trying to acquire bankrupt Swedish carmaker Saab.
Wall Street veteran Ira Rennert faces competition in his efforts to save the company, with Fiat and Swedish sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg also on the short list. Saab was part of General Motors’ European arm, which is being sold separately by the troubled US car giant. Rennert made billions in the “junk-bond” market, taking over vulnerable businesses by buying their high-yield, low-grade bonds. He was one of several investors who were unpopular in the 1980s for such deals. Though best known for building up a vast empire of mining companies, smelting plants and industrial firms, the financier’s investment firm Renco netted almost $900m (£593.8m) in 2004 when it sold carmaker Hummer. Rennert’s estimated $4 billion fortune has allowed him to build one of the biggest homes in America. His 66,000 sq ft beachfront mansion in the Hamptons, New York, boasts 29 bedrooms, a 164-seat theatre and a garage with room for about 100 cars. Last year it had an estimated value of $180m. -- Posted By anjos to Business Blog at 5/17/2009 12:36:00 AM [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
