Ford Motor signed a $1.8bn deal to sell its Volvo brand to Geely yesterday in a move seen as emblematic1 of the shift in the global car industry’s centre of gravity from the US and western Europe to China.
福特汽车昨日签署协议，将旗下沃尔沃品牌以18亿美元出售给吉利汽车，此举 被视为一个象征，标志着全球汽车业的重心正从美国和西欧转向中国。
The transaction, signed in Sweden yesterday, will see Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the parent of the Chinese carmaker, acquire 100 per cent of Volvo and its assets. Geely said the deal would nearly double its sales to 600,000 in five years, largely by building market share in its home country.
根据昨日在瑞典签约的交易，吉利的母公司——浙江吉利控股集团将收购沃 尔沃及其资产的100%股权。吉利表示，此笔交易将使沃尔沃的汽车销售量在五年 内接近翻倍，达到近60万辆，主要是通过在吉利的本土市场构建市场份额。
The deal marks the largest acquisition of an overseas carmaker2 yet by a Chinese company, and is China’s biggest foray into ownership of a big luxury brand. Ford and Geely said they expected the deal to close in the third quarter of this year, pending regulatory approvals.
这是中国企业迄今对海外汽车制造商规模最大的收购交易，也是中国迄今在 收购知名豪华品牌方面的最大手笔。福特与吉利都表示，视监管批准进度，它们预 计此笔交易将在今年第三季度完成。
Geely vowed to maintain Volvo’s manufacturing presence in Europe, where it has two car plants in Sweden and one in Belgium, but said China would become “Volvo’s second home market”.
吉利承诺保持沃尔沃在欧洲的制造基地(目前沃尔沃在瑞典有两家汽车制造 厂,在比利时还有一家厂),但表示中国将成为“沃尔沃的第二个本土市场” 。
Li Shufu, Geely*s chairman, likened the Gothenburg -based producer of famously safe and solid estate cars and executive sedans to a “tiger” in a zoo that would be freed to pursue new opportunities. “We need to liberate this tiger,” he said.
沃尔沃的旅行及行政轿车素以安全、坚固闻名。吉利董事长李书福把总部位于 瑞典哥德堡的沃尔沃比喻为动物园里的一只“老虎”,称这只老虎将被放出笼外，追 逐新的机遇。“我们需要解放这只老虎”,他表示。
The deal ends more than a year of uncertainty for Sweden’s car industry since Volvo and Saab were put up for sale by their U.S. owners. General Motors sold Saab to Spyker cars of the Netherlands last month.
对瑞典汽车业来说，这宗交易也结束了自一年多前美国拥有者宣布要出售沃 尔沃和萨博以来的不确定时期。通用汽车上月将萨博出售给了 荷兰的世爵公司。
Ford said the sale of Volvo would net it “significantly” less cash than the $1.8bn sale price because of adjustments to be made for pension deficits, debt, cash and working capital at the dears expected closing date.
福特表示，出售沃尔沃使其 实际得到的现金，将“大大”低于 18亿美元的售价，这是因为在预 期的交易完成日，需要对养老金 赤字、债务、现金和营运资本进行的各项调整。
Geely, which is mindful of protecting Volvo’s premium3 image even as it shifts more of its operations to China, said it intended to run the Swedish carmaker as a separate company with its own management team based in Gothenburg and a new board of directors.
吉利意识到，即便该公司要将沃尔沃的更多业务转到中国，但必须注意保护沃 尔沃的优质形象。吉利表示，有意将这家瑞典汽车制造商作为一家独立公司运营， 沃尔沃的管理团队将以哥德堡为总部，还将有一个新的董事会。
Ford paid $6.45bn for Volvo in 1999 when it was split from the truck-making group of the same name. It was profitable then, but has lost money ever since.
福特在1999年斥资64.5亿美元收购沃尔沃轿车，当时制造卡车的沃尔沃集团正要剥离轿车业务。当时这块业务处于盈利状态,但自那以来一直亏损。
Geely did not say how it planned to finance the deal but, according to a person briefed on its business plan, it has lined up financing from Chinese state institutions and provinces where it plans to build at least three plants.
吉利并未说明它准备如何为这宗交易融资，但据一名简要听取了吉利商业计划的人士称，该公司巳在中国多家国有机构和省份安排了融资。吉利计划在中国至 少建造三家沃尔沃工厂。