Rumormill: Ford to sell Volvo to Geely for 1.8 billion on Feb. 8

Jonny Lieberman — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:31:00 EST

Filed under: China, Europe, Volvo, Rumormill, Geely

See you in Shanghai - click above for high-res image gallery

With all the Saab hullabaloo clogging up the virtual pipes as of late seems that folks have been neglecting the fate of the other fancy Swedish brand purchased by a pipe-dreamin', pie in the sky American car maker whose coffers were overflowing with SUV money. That's right, Ford purchased Volvo in 1999 for $6.45 billion dollars. Many scratched their heads at the time, as Mercury and/or Lincoln certainly could have used a $6 billion infusion. Also, both Mercury and Lincoln compete with Volvo, on paper at least. But, just like General Motors purchased Saab, Ford had their Swedish brand.

In retrospect, probably not the best idea ever hatched.

Proof? Rumor has it that Ford is inking in the details of a sale of Volvo to China's Geely Holding Group Co. for $1.8 billion by February 8. That's a nearly $4.7 billion bath on Ford's part in just eleven years. But here's the thing: according to the same rumor, Ford might let Volvo go to Geely for as little as $1.6 billion. There's a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo still to be worked out (this agreement runs out after one year, that regulatory board must approve X in a timely fashion) but it's looking more and more that Volvo is about to become a Chinese company. We'll keep you posted.

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: 2010 Volvo C30

[Source: Trading Markets]

Rumormill: Ford to sell Volvo to Geely for 1.8 billion on Feb. 8 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford in further talks with Shanghai Auto to sell Volvo

Frank Filipponio — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:59:00 EST

Filed under: China, Volvo, Earnings/Financials

The UK's Sunday Mail is reporting that Ford has returned to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) to make another pitch to sell Volvo. As we told you back in June, SAIC is one of the leading contenders to snap up Volvo. Although Ford had long maintained the Swedish automaker was not for sale, it recently admitted it was entertaining offers for the firm. Having paid $6.4 billion for Volvo back in 1999, it is believed that Ford is now seeking around $6 billion for the company. That's a lot of renminbi.

Like the rest of the industry, Volvo is struggling in today's market with third-quarter sales down 24 percent. It has cut thousands of jobs and has even sought assistance from the Swedish government. Besides SAIC, Hyundai Motor Co. is still believed to be in the hunt for Volvo, as well as the Swedish government itself, although that seems unlikely.

If SAIC does end up in Chinese hands, it won't be their first experience building Volvos. The Chinese-market-only, long-wheelbase S80L is already being built at the CFMA Chongqing plant in China, but that is a unique partnership for now and it is unclear how the sale of Volvo to SAIC would affect that arrangement.

[Source: The Sunday Mail]

Ford in further talks with Shanghai Auto to sell Volvo originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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