FACTBOX-Russian businessman Antonov eyes stake in Saab

April 28 (Reuters) - Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, who is seeking to invest in carmaker Saab, won initial approval for the plan on Thursday, raising hopes the Swedish firm can beat a cash crunch threatening its survival. [ID:nLDE73R1KW]

Here are some details about Antonov:

* THE SAAB DEAL:

-- The Swedish Debt Office must give its approval to allow Spyker to have Antonov back as a shareholder as Sweden has guaranteed a 400 million euro ($568.9 million) EIB loan. -- Antonov, who has said he has been the target of false allegations of money laundering and other financial crimes, was ousted from Spyker's deal to buy Saab from General Motors (GM.N) in 2010. He has said investigations have cleared his name and that GM, which retained preference shares in Saab and is also a supplier, is now ready to let him back as a shareholder.

-- Saab is trying to get agreement to sell its plant and real estate to Antonov and lease it back to solve its cash problems, which led to unpaid bills and production halts.

-- Antonov aims to take a 29.9 percent stake in Spyker as part of the deal.

-- His plans still have to be approved by the Swedish government and by the European Investment Bank.

* OTHER DETAILS:

-- Born in 1975 in Uzbekistan, where his father worked at a uranium enrichment plant, he graduated from the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics.

-- In an interview on his website, www.vladimirantonov.org, he says he made his fortune while trading Russian debt at a bank called Lefco Bank during the 1998 crisis and then cheaply bought a Russian bank, Akademkhimbank (ACH), in 1999. He says he specialises in turning troubled companies around.

-- In February 2003, ACH acquired 85 percent of Conversbank, which became the start of holding company Convers Group, which is shared by Antonov and his father Alexander Antonov. The group says it has assets under management worth $7 billion.

-- Convers Group consolidated some of its banking assets in Russia, including Conversbank, Grankombank and Voronezhprombank into Kaliningrad-based Investbank. In March 2011, Antonov sold his whole 40 percent stake in Investbank.

-- Antonov's key assets now include Lithuanian Snoras bank, which was the fifth-largest bank by assets totaling 7.7 billion litas ($3.2 billion) at the end of 2010. Conversbank acquired a majority stake of Snoras in 2003, and Antonov became direct holder of 68.1 percent in 2007. Antonov is chairman of the bank's supervisory board and his father is also on the board.

-- Snoras has launched a new share issue of 380 million litas, and said UK-based JFP Emerging Europe Momentum Fund was expected to become its new shareholder with more than 9 percent, while Antonov's stake was to decrease to 61.3 percent.

-- Via Snoras, Antonov owns Latvian bank Latvijas Krajbanka. The bank's assets totaled 656 million lats ($1.32 billion) as of end-2010.

-- Antonov's father was shot and wounded in an attack in Moscow in March 2009.

Sources -- Kroll report released by the Swedish Debt Office, an IPSA report commissioned by Antonov and Antonov's website. (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; Additional reporting by Patrick Lannin in Stockholm and Nerijus Adomaitis in Vilnius; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)