Ford Motor has begun seeking indicative bids from potential buyers of its Swedish Volvo car brand in a sale process expected to last until late in the year.
The auction will be complicated by questions hanging over the state of the global car market and Ford's own finances.
The Chinese government's ambivalence over foreign acquisitions by its fledgling car companies, at a time when it is prodding them to consolidate at home, adds another layer of uncertainty.
Three people involved in, or briefed on, the sale say Volvo has drawn tentative interest from at least three Chinese carmakers.
Talks have also been held about forming a Swedish-led investor consortium amid concerns among some in Sweden's motor industry about the possible leakage of intellectual property to China.
Volvo's managers gave potential bidders presentations on the business last month in London. Ford is now seeking indicative bids for the loss-making brand, but in spite of reports of a mid-March date for bids, there is no firm deadline, these people say.
Potential buyers will be asked to bid on the basis of an information memorandum, but they will not be invited to tour Volvo's two plants in Sweden and Belgium. JPMorgan and Citigroup are advising Ford on the sale.
Ford is not commenting on its efforts to sell Volvo, other than to say it is reviewing its options for the brand, including a sale. It has asked potential bidders to sign confidentiality agreements.
Volvo shares engineering, purchasing, engines, and other components with Ford, so the sale will require any buyer to conclude long-term supply and other arrangements with the Detroit carmaker, as was the case with Tata Motors' $2.3bn purchase of Jaguar Land Rover last year.
Selling Volvo will take “the better part of five to six months, if not longer”, according to a banker.
Industry sources say Ford is unlikely to get anywhere near the $6.45bn it paid for Volvo in 1999, but the sale has less to do with raising cash than allowing the Detroit carmaker to focus on its core US business.
Ford, unlike GM or Chrysler, is not currently receiving federal aid, but analysts warn it might need to ask for it in the second half of 2009 if the US car market's deep downturn persists.
Chinese carmaker Geely is preparing a bid for Volvo, according to a person familiar with the company's plans, in spite of a denial last week by Li Shufu, its chairman, that he would bid for Volvo.
Rival carmakers Dongfeng and Chang'an – which produces Volvo cars in China in a joint venture with Ford – have also expressed preliminary interest in the brand, but it is unclear whether they will bid.
Chang'an declined to comment yesterday, and Dongfeng could not be reached for comment.
Chinese government officials have publicly discouraged the country's fragmented motor industry from making overseas acquisitions. China, with annual car sales of less than 6m, has about 45 carmakers, and the government is pressing them to form larger groups that can compete more effectively.
“It's a very risky purchase for the Chinese, and I doubt if we have good enough capacity to digest the purchase,” said one Shanghai-based industry consultant, who asked not to be identified.
Some Chinese carmakers might be positioning themselves as potential buyers of Volvo in order to improve their status in China as the industry consolidates, sources said.
Geely, China's second-biggest private carmaker, will seek to finance a potential buy of Volvo outside China – most likely in Hong Kong – as it did when it bought a minority stake in Manganese Bronze, the UK maker of London black cabs, in 2007.
General Motors has thus far failed to sell its Hummer brand, in spite of efforts to interest Chinese and other potential buyers.
參考譯文：
福特汽車(Ford Motor)打算出售旗下沃爾沃(Volvo)汽車品牌，已為此開始尋求潛在買家發(fā)出指示性報(bào)價(jià)。預(yù)計(jì)出售過程將持續(xù)至今年底。
上述拍賣將因?yàn)槿蚱囀袌?chǎng)形勢(shì)以及福特的自身財(cái)務(wù)狀況而變得復(fù)雜。
在中國(guó)政府推動(dòng)本國(guó)新興的汽車企業(yè)相互整合之際，其對(duì)這些企業(yè)海外收購(gòu)的矛盾心態(tài)，為拍賣增添了另一層變數(shù)。
3位參與或了解出售事宜的人士表示，沃爾沃已經(jīng)吸引了至少3家中國(guó)汽車企業(yè)的初步興趣。
由于瑞典汽車工業(yè)的一些人擔(dān)心知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)可能泄露給中國(guó)，就成立一個(gè)以瑞典人為首的投資者財(cái)團(tuán)一事也舉行了談判。
沃爾沃的經(jīng)理上月在倫敦為潛在競(jìng)標(biāo)者作了業(yè)務(wù)陳述。上述知情人士表示，目前福特正為這個(gè)虧損的品牌尋求指示性報(bào)價(jià)，雖然有報(bào)道稱競(jìng)標(biāo)日期為3月中旬，但沒有嚴(yán)格的最后期限。
福特將要求潛在買家在信息備忘錄的基礎(chǔ)上投標(biāo)，但不會(huì)邀請(qǐng)他們參觀沃爾沃在瑞典和比利時(shí)的兩家工廠。摩根大通(JPMorgan)和花旗集團(tuán)(Citigroup)為福特的此次出售提供顧問服務(wù)。
福特沒有就出售沃爾沃置評(píng)，只是表示正在研究包括出售在內(nèi)的各項(xiàng)選擇。福特已要求潛在的投標(biāo)者簽署保密協(xié)議。
沃爾沃與福特共享工程、采購(gòu)、發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)以及其它部件，因此此次出售將要求買家與福特達(dá)成長(zhǎng)期供應(yīng)協(xié)議和其它安排，正如去年印度塔塔汽車(Tata Motors)以23億美元收購(gòu)捷豹(Jaguar)和路虎(Land Rover)時(shí)的情況。
一位銀行家表示，出售沃爾沃將需要“5至6個(gè)來月，如果不是更長(zhǎng)的話”。
業(yè)內(nèi)人士稱，福特不太可能收回1999年為收購(gòu)沃爾沃支付的64.5億美元，但此次出售與其說是為了籌集現(xiàn)金，還不如說是福特為了專注于美國(guó)核心業(yè)務(wù)。
與通用汽車(GM)或克萊斯勒(Chrysler)不同，當(dāng)前福特并沒有接受聯(lián)邦政府援助。但分析師警告，如果美國(guó)汽車市場(chǎng)的嚴(yán)重低迷狀況持續(xù)，今年下半年，福特可能就得請(qǐng)求援助。
據(jù)一位知情人士透露，中國(guó)汽車制造商吉利(Geely)正準(zhǔn)備競(jìng)購(gòu)沃爾沃，盡管吉利董事長(zhǎng)李書福上周否認(rèn)了相關(guān)傳聞。
競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手東風(fēng)汽車公司和長(zhǎng)安汽車公司也表示了對(duì)沃爾沃的初步興趣，但不清楚它們會(huì)不會(huì)競(jìng)購(gòu)。長(zhǎng)安與福特合資在華生產(chǎn)沃爾沃汽車。
長(zhǎng)安汽車公司昨日拒絕發(fā)表評(píng)論，東風(fēng)汽車公司則聯(lián)絡(luò)不上。
中國(guó)政府已公開勸阻國(guó)內(nèi)呈分散狀態(tài)的汽車業(yè)進(jìn)行海外收購(gòu)。中國(guó)每年汽車銷量不足600萬輛，共有約45家汽車制造商。政府正推動(dòng)它們組成較大型的集團(tuán)，以利于更有效地競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。
上海一位要求不具名的行業(yè)咨詢師表示：“對(duì)中方來說，這是一項(xiàng)十分冒險(xiǎn)的收購(gòu)。我懷疑我們是否有足夠的能力消化這項(xiàng)收購(gòu)?！?/SPAN>
消息人士表示，隨著行業(yè)整合，為了提升自身地位，某些中國(guó)汽車制造商可能正將自身定位于沃爾沃的潛在買家。
吉利是中國(guó)第二大民營(yíng)汽車制造商，它將尋求在境外融資，以支持對(duì)沃爾沃的潛在收購(gòu)?？赡苄宰畲蟮氖窃谙愀邸?/SPAN>2007年吉利收購(gòu)倫敦黑色出租車制造商——英國(guó)Manganese Bronze公司少數(shù)股權(quán)時(shí)，就采取了相同的做法。
通用汽車迄今未能將旗下Hummer品牌脫手，盡管它努力引起中國(guó)及其他地區(qū)潛在買家的興趣。
（轉(zhuǎn)載）
