Ford Seeks $6 Billion for Volvo, Retains JPMorgan, People Say

[The Straight Story]

Ford Seeks $6 Billion for Volvo, Retains JPMorgan, People Say

By Ambereen Choudhury and Chris Reiter

Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. is seeking to sell Volvo for as much as $6 billion, close to what it paid for the Swedish carmaker 10 years ago, and is using JPMorgan Chase & Co. as an adviser, people with knowledge of the plan said.

Ford, which bought Volvo for $6.4 billion in 1999, is counting on the strength of the brand to draw bidders, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the target price isn’t public. Volvo ranked No. 1 for safety in an independent U.S. Consumers Union survey in January.

Under pressure to secure a $9 billion backstop from the U.S. government, Ford may not meet its price target, said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Gelsenkirchen in Germany. Bidders may also be limited to Chinese carmakers, buyout firms or a group arranged by the Swedish government. Renault SA of France isn’t interested, said a spokeswoman, Frederique Le Greves.

“Anything other than a heavily discounted sale seems unrealistic,” said Dudenhoeffer. “For a buyer it’s the best time that one could wish for. But it’s not ideal for Ford.”

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