Ford confirms Geely as its preferred bidder for Volvo
FoMoCo released a statement today announcing that Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is its preferred bidder for the possible sale of Volvo Car Corporation. Ford said that while it will be engaging in a more detailed and focused negotiation with Geely, no final decisions have been made.
“Ford”s objective in our discussions with Geely is to secure an agreement that is in the best interests of all the parties,” said Lewis Booth, Ford Motor Company executive vice president and chief financial officer. “Any prospective sale would have to ensure that Volvo has the resources, including the capital investment, necessary to further strengthen the business and build its global franchise, while enabling Ford to continue to focus on and implement our core ONE Ford strategy.”
Ford said that while it will not keep a shareholding in Volvo, it will cooperate with the Swedish brand in several areas after a sale.
“Ford believes Geely has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and the independence of the Swedish brand. But there is much work that needs to be completed in the more substantive discussions that are agreed to take place. We have no specific timeline to conclude the discussions.”
In a statement released earlier this morning Ford and Volvo said that they will maintain communications with key stakeholders, Volvo employees, unions and the Swedish government, during the negotiation process with Geely.
“Volvo”s management team welcomes today”s announcement as a positive step forward,” Volvo CEO Stephen Odell said. “At Volvo, we are continuing to keep our attention firmly fixed on engineering and building great Volvo cars, to reduce our cost base and to return the business to sustainable profitability at the earliest possible opportunity.”
– By: Omar Rana
