Spyker Borrows Some Euros

Truth be told, we're not exactly sure how Spyker's financed. We know there're a lot of Middle Eastern bux involved and company co-founder Victor Muller is obviously a rather well-off individual. He'd told us less than a year ago that the company was a year from profitability, bought an F1 team and then announced profitability at the LA Auto Show. Now, of course, Muller has stepped down as CEO and Michiel Mol, the man in charge of Spyker's F1 outfit is holding the temporary reins. And Spyker has just secured 12.5 million more euros in financing "to satisfy its short-term liquidity position," according to a bit at Forbes' site and is bringing in consulting behemoth Booz Allen Hamiltion, the firm that royally screwed up the upgrade of the Muni trains back in '98, to review the company's product line and brainstorm future directions.

In the meantime, the new cash comes from a line-extension from Luxembourg-based Trafalgar capital, a 7.5-eur injection from a current investor, and a cool 2.5 from another bank. The company has also confirmed that back in September, it mortgaged its brand with Friesland Bank, something Spyker says is "common practice." With so much expansion so soon, an apparent restructuring, and the stepping aside of the company's founder after a massive acquisition like an underperforming F1 team that will require a serious long-term investment of time and capital to make work (something Muller was completely frank about during his speech at the LA Auto Show), we're a little worried about Spyker right now. We want them to succeed; they're heirs to the wild-hair-up-my-ass-let's-start-a-car-company sense of craziness that made the auto industry great in the first place.

Spyker Cars secures additional 12.5 mln eur financing; works on refinancing plan [Forbes]

Related:
Victor Muller Steps Down as Spyker CEO [Internal]