Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (吉利控股集團) signed a binding deal on Sunday to buy Ford Motor Co’s Volvo Cars unit for US$1.8 billion, representing a coup for the independent Chinese automaker, which is aiming to expand in Europe.
The stock purchase agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the third quarter, representatives of the two automakers said as they presented the deal at a news conference at Volvo Cars headquarters in Goteborg, on Sweden’s west coast.
The agreement was signed by Geely chairman Li Shufu (李書福) and Ford chief financial officer Lewis Booth and witnessed by Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong (李毅中) and Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson.
The transaction will be made through a US$200 million note, while the remainder will be paid out in cash, Booth said at the Web cast news conference.
“We think it’s a fair price for a good business, and yes, we’re happy with the deal we’ve achieved with Geely,” he said, adding that his company believed that, under Geely, “Volvo can continue to build its business and return to profitability.”
The deal also covers further agreements on intellectual property rights, supply and research and development arrangements between Volvo Cars, Geely and Ford.
Li, whose comments were translated by an interpreter, described the deal as “a milestone” for both Geely and Volvo, adding that his group would make a Volvo CEO public “in due course.”
In a statement, Geely said it has secured all the financing necessary to complete the deal, as well as “significant working capital facilities to fund Volvo Cars’ ongoing business.”
Geely said it aimed to keep Volvo’s existing manufacturing facilities in Sweden and Belgium, but that it would also explore manufacturing opportunities in China.
“China, the largest car market in the world, will become Volvo’s second home market. Volvo will be uniquely positioned as a world-leading premium brand, tapping into the opportunities in the fast-growing China market,” Li said.
Ford, which bought Volvo Cars from AB Volvo in 1999 for US$6.45 billion, has been trying to sell the unit since late 2008 to focus its resources on managing its core Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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