Ford moving near to sale of Volvo brand to Geely

Shanghai, December 22 (Gasgoo.com) Ford Motor is set to announce further progress in the next few days on talks to sell its Swedish Volvo brand to China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the Financial Times reported today.

While a final deal had yet to be settled, the two sides were close to agreement on some key aspects, said sources close to the talks. The issues still on the table include protection of intellectual property rights and the future of Volvo's plants in Sweden and Belgium.

Ford said yesterday that both sides are working together in hopes of reaching an agreement. "The talks are progressing well on Volvo," Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said on Friday at a factory in Wayne, Michigan. "Hopefully, we'll have something to announce soon."

Ford named Geely in late October as its preferred bidder for Volvo. Terms of the proposed deal have not been disclosed but Geely has reportedly offered just under $2 billion, which it may raise with a mix of cash, bank loans and funds from a small number of investors.

Volvo was put on the block a year ago as Ford, the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy, decided to finish shedding overseas luxury lines to focus on its namesake brand.

Last week, Geely said it aims to conclude the acquisition of Ford's Volvo car unit by mid-February next year and expects to create a Lenovo-IBM alliance in the auto industry.