Consortium Led by Former Ford Execs Makes Play for Volvo
By Bill Visnic October 5, 2009Although Ford Motor Co. has been trying to offload its money-losing Volvo Cars unit for some time, it appeared there had been only one entity serious about buying Volvo: China's Geely Automotive Holdings.
But the Financial Times reports today that a consortium headed by former Ford executive Michael Dingman and that also includes Shamel Rushwin, another executive for both Ford and Chrysler, has emerged as a bidder for Volvo.
There are few reported details about a proposal from Dingman's Crown consortium to acquire Volvo, but the deal likely may vary significantly from that proposed by Geely, which, among other facets, is said to include a provision that Ford retain responsibility for certain pension liabilities and that Ford retain a share of Volvo.
In the months Ford has had Volvo "under review," it had been rumored more than once that buyers with Detroit-area experience were attempting to put together a bid for the Swedish automaker. And although the Crown consortium has funding backing from private equity, it reportedly also is seeking to involve former Volvo executives as investors, including Roger Holtback, who served as CEO at Volvo more than two decades ago.
The Crown proposal also may be markedly different from a perceived viability standpoint. As a full-fledged automaker, Geely has enormous production capability, supplier relationships and associated corporate infrastructure that are likely to permit considerably more near- to mid-term manufacturing and product-development flexibility than Crown.
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