Ford values Volvo at $6 billion: report

Ford has said it wants to sell Volvo Cars for $6 billion, just shy of what the US carmaker paid when it bought the Swedish company a decade ago.

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Citing sources with knowledge of the situation, the Bloomberg news agency reported on Thursday that Ford had retained JPMorgan Chase to advise it on the deal and hopes that the strength of the Volvo brand will attract a number of bidders.

But Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Gelsenkirchen in Germany told Bloomberg that it was unlikely Ford would get as much as its asking.

“Anything other than a heavily discounted sale seems unrealistic,” he said, adding that plausible bidders include Chinese automakers or buyout firms.

While many have speculated that French carmaker Renault could be a potential buyer, spokesperson Frederique Le Greves told Bloomberg that Renault isn’t interested in purchasing Volvo.

Dudenhöffer also speculated that the Swedish government may call up on the Wallenburg family to serve as “a possible savior” of the Swedish car industry.

He suggested that the Wallenbergs could be a potential buyer for Saab, which General Motors says it plans to sell as a part of its restructuring efforts.

Dudenhöffer pointed out that the Wallenbergs family holding company, Investor AB, sold the Swedish automaker to GM between 1989 2001.