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Trollhattan, Sweden (AHN) – The owner of troubled automaker Saab on Monday said it has issued 4 million shares, the second time this month the company has sold shares to raise cash to resume production and pay wages.

Swedish Automobile, formerly called Spyker Cars, said in a statement the price and number of shares to be issued will depend on a 10-day pricing period that began on Monday.

The shares were issued under a EUR 150 million equity facility with GEM Global Yield Fund Limited, the investment group that also bought the automaker’s shares early this month.

Swedish Automobile said it is continuing “discussions with parties to obtain further short-term funding to be able to restart and sustain production.”

The company sold 5 million shares on Aug. 3, allowing it to pay the July wages of white-collar workers at its Saab plant in Trollhattan. It had said “funds that were committed by investors were not paid in time,” affecting the payment of salaries.

Unionen, one of several unions that represent Saab workers, at the time said it was “pleased that wages are finally paid” but would like to see “a plan of action for Saab to survive in the short term.”

“It is not acceptable that there will be any further delay with the next payroll in August,” Martin Wästfelt, general counsel for Unionen, had said in a statement.

Unionen, along with IF Metall, threatened legal action against Swedish Automobile in late June after the company said it had no funds to pay workers.

A pre-payment from a Chinese firm for an order of vehicles for EURO 13 million ($18.5 million) enabled the company to make payroll for about 1,500 workers at the time. But issues with suppliers remained, keeping production lines at Trollhattan halted.

Saab planned to restart production on Aug. 9 but could not reach an agreement with suppliers about the delivery of all parts required to resume work at the plant.

The company also saw a supplier of a subsidiary file for bankruptcy and a 50-year dealership in New York, the New Salem Garage, close its doors due to “operational difficulties” at Saab.

A seven-week production halt at Trollhattan began in April due to unpaid bills from suppliers. Work at the plant resumed after Pang Da Automobile paid EURO 30 million to buy Saab vehicles as part of an agreement with Swedish Automobile.

However, production soon stopped again even as Swedish Automobile, which bought Saab from General Motors last year just as the U.S. carmaker was to end the iconic brand under a government bailout plan, reached an agreement with Chinese investors.

The company secured EURO 245 million ($352 million) in long-term financing from Pang Da, China´s largest publicly traded car distributor, and Zhejiang Youngman, maker of trucks for German-based MAN and cars and spare parts for British-based Lotus, in early June.

The investments gave the Chinese firms control of 24 percent and 29.9 percent, respectively, of the company while assuring the continuation of the Saab brand.

The agreements strengthened the Saab’s prospects for the long term without resolving the company’s immediate cash shortage.

Victor Mueller, chief executive of Saab and Swedish Automobile, had also said that although agreements with most suppliers were reached, there remained a lack of parts from a few remaining suppliers as well as those that were taking some time to re-stock because they are located outside Europe.

Swedish Automobile has nearly 11,000 Saab orders, including those for the Saab 9-4x, which is being made in Mexico. But the company cannot receive payment for pending orders until the vehicles are built, which will depend on when production resumes.

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