Car giant Ford is tipped to sell Swedish car group Volvo

[Bud Bud]

Just read this. It appears that Volvo will be sold after all.

We all know that Ford globally is really haemorrhaging at the moment but I hope they don't implode on themselves in the near future by making bad decision today.

Car giant Ford is tipped to sell Swedish car group Volvo

17/07/2007 - Car giant Ford is reportedly putting Swedish car group Volvo up for sale as part of a move to offload the remaining brands in its loss-making European portfolio.

Volvo is believed to be joining fellow Premier Automotive Group (PAG) marques Land Rover and Jaguar on the sale block as Ford overhauls its business to stem record losses.

The Swedish brand is the flagship of Ford's PAG business and until now has thought not to be included in the group's disposal plans.

But newspaper reports on Monday suggest Ford is now considering selling all the remaining brands in its luxury PAG stable, having already sold Aston Martin last year for $US450 million ($A520.02 million).

Volvo is said to worth around $US8 billion ($A9.24 billion) - nearly 25 per cent more than the $US6.5 billion ($A7.51 billion) that Ford paid for the business in 1999.

Ford said it was not in discussions with any companies regarding a sale of Volvo but added that it was "continuing to assess all of our options" for the business.

The group's British brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, have already attracted interest from a range of potential buyers, with Ford confirming it has received approaches from a number of parties.

The group said it was "aggressively evaluating that level of interest" and is thought to have set a deadline for initial bids this week, although it has yet to officially announce its decision to sell the brands.

Private equity group 3i is one of those considering bidding for Jaguar and Land Rover, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Other private equity firms understood to be in the running include Cerberus and One Equity Partners.

Ford launched a review of the PAG business after the overall Ford group posted losses of $US12.7 billion ($A14.68 billion) last year - the largest deficit in its 103-year history.

The Premier Automotive Group almost trebled its pre-tax losses last year, from $US89 million ($A102.85 million) in 2005 to $US327 million ($A377.88 million).

Pre-tax profits at the division improved in the first three months of this year, at $US191 million ($A220.72 million) against $US129 million ($A149.07 million) for the first quarter in 2006.

Source: AAP NewsWire