Ford in Deal to Sell Volvo to Chinese

Ford says it is close to selling its loss-making Volvo unit to China's Geely and expects a final deal in the first quarter of next year. "All substantive commercial terms relating to the potential sale have been settled," Ford said in a statement. Ford chose Geely as the preferred bidder for Volvo in October.

Work on financing and government approvals remains to be completed, Ford said. The announcement did not reveal the amount of Geely's offer, the AP reports. Ford bought Volvo for $6.45 billion in 1999, and has wanted to unload it since last year to raise cash and focus its efforts on three core brands: Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. With Ford and Volvo sharing safety and other technology—the Ford Taurus is based on Volvo underpinnings—any agreement is expected to include details about sharing intellectual property rights and engineering. (More Ford stories.)