LONDON (Reuters) – Ford (F.N) named a consortium led by China's Zhejiang Geely Group Holding Co. as preferred bidder for its loss-making Swedish unit, Volvo Car Corp., but said more detailed talks were needed before any final agreement.
The announcement moves the long-running sale, which began in December, closer to a conclusion, and signals that intellectual property concerns, which threatened to derail the deal last week, may have been overcome.
But it could be months before a final deal is reached -- Ford named Tata Motors as preferred bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover in January 2008, and reached a final accord in March of that year.
Ford did not disclose a possible sale price, but media reports have put it closer to $2 billion than the $6.45 billion it paid for Volvo in 1999.
Sources familiar with the matter have said a U.S.-led group including former Ford director Michael Dingman, the Crown consortium, and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) were among other potential suitors.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091028/bs_nm/us_ford_volvo