Geely's Volvo bid rivaled by Ex-Ford execs-led group

Shanghai, December 3 (Gasgoo.com) A group led by former executives of Ford Motor has submitted a revised bid this week for Ford's Volvo unit and hopes to beat the offer by Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Reuters reported today.

The group, called Crown consortium, is led by former Ford director Michael Dingman and former Ford and Chrysler LLC executive Shamel Rushwin. Even as a sure-to-lose bidder, Crown had been encouraged by Ford if it could find the necessary funding, the Wall Street Journal said.

Their revised offer by the so-call Crown group is fully funded and includes participation by Swedish investors, an insider said, highlighting two adjustments aimed at making the offer more attractive to Ford in the sale of the Swedish operation.

The Crown consortium is trying to grab the deal away from Geely. Ford picked Geely in October as its preferred bidder for Volvo with its $1.8 billion bid, and the two sides have agreed on the Volvo technology rights and other details of the deal.

It's unclear yet how Ford will respond to the new Crown offer. Ford's decision to pick Geely as a preferred bidder indicates the new offer could face an uphill battle winning support, the WSJ paper said.

Geely, one of China's biggest private auto makers, is financing a roughly $2 billon bid for Volvo with a mix of cash, bank loans and funds from a small number of investors.