Geely-Volvo may be 'Lenovo-IBM' in auto industry

Shanghai, December 16 (Gasgoo.com) Zhejiang Geely Holding Group aims to conclude the acquisition of Ford's Volvo car unit early next year and expects to create a Lenovo-IBM alliance in the auto industry, Reuters reported today.

The Chinese automaker has reached an agreement with Ford Motor on intellectual property rights issues in its bid for Volvo, clearing a major barrier to the deal. The remaining issues for Geely to talk with Ford, such as long-term strategy for Volvo's sales and production, will be much easier to resolve.

Geely has hired German-based Roland Berger Strategy Consultants to launch a 100-day internal review and restructuring to improve Geely operations with a focus on sales of Geely's own-brand cars in China. Geely has also hired Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu to work on post-acquisition integration for Volvo.

"It is expected to be done before Chinese New Year, and then Geely will quickly launch integration," said a source familiar with the deal. In 2010, the Chinese New Year will start on Feb 14.

Geely Chairman "Li Shufu wants to do something like Lenovo-IBM -- have a foreign headquarters and a China headquarters," the source added. Chinese computer maker Lenovo completed its $1.75 billion purchase of IBM's personal computer division on May 1, 2005, creating the world's third-largest PC maker.

Ford has selected Geely as the preferred bidder for its loss-making Swedish unit Volvo in a deal estimated to be worth about $1.8 billion.