China's Beijing Auto also Interested in Buying Volvo

A second Chinese firm has been added to the list of potential bidders for FoMoCo's Volvo division. Aside from Geely Automobiles Holdings, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday in its online edition that the Chinese government-owned Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) is also interested in the Swedish automaker. Citing sources familiar with the discussions, the newspaper said a delegation from Beijing Auto is expected to visit Volvo's headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden as early as Thursday to meet with the firm's executives and tour its factory.

The report goes on to say that Ford has narrowed the potential buyers for Volvo to three or four interested parties. The American automaker paid 50 billion Swedish Kronas or $6.45 billion US to acquire Volvo's car operations in 1999, but now most analysts expect that Ford will sell the Swedish company for far less than $3 billion US.

Via: WSJ