Swedish consortium a possible Volvo bidder

A primarily Swedish consortium eyeing a possible bid to buy Volvo Cars from Ford Motors has the support of a Volvo workers union, a business daily reports.

The Local reported Saturday that the financial newspaper Dagens Industri said Volvo Cars’ engineering trade union supports Konsortium Jakob AB in the consortium’s attempt to outmaneuver a Chinese group for ownership of Volvo Cars.

A consortium including the Chinese car manufacturer Geely has been tabbed the expected winner in the bidding war, despite the state-owned manufacturer’s denial that it has any plans to purchase the Swedish automaker.

Ford Motors is expected to remain a minority owner in Volvo Cars no matter who purchases it. Volvo Cars is expected to be bought for about $2 billion.

The Local said under the possible bid from Konsortium Jabob AB, Volvo employees in Sweden and Belgium, along with Volvo dealers, may be allowed to use their salaries to purchase a stake in the company.