Ford gets back to China’s Geely over Volvo sale
After keeping everybody guessing, Ford has again begun talks to sell Volvo to a group of bidders led by Chinese carmaker, Zhejiang Geely Holdings, after earlier attempts failed over intellectual property issues. Selling Volvo, once a Swedish corporate icon, is not likely to be as threatening to US national security as when US politicians forced Chinese oil company, CNOOC, to drop its $18.5 billion bid for California energy company, Unocal Corp. A deal with Geely would fulfil Ford’s plans to sell its European brands to raise money and focus on its core US operations. The beleaguered Big Three carmaker sold Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata Motors in 2008, after selling Aston Martin in 2007. They say what goes around comes around. Having bought up some of Europe’s most famous marques in the recent era of mega-buyouts and mega-mergers, Ford has realised that karma really does exist. Read more: The New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters
Become an Insider