Ford (NYSE: F) to Complete Sale of Volvo to Geely This Week

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.’s request for regulatory approval to purchase Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F)’s Volvo unit was approved by China’s Ministry of Commerce, a move which will allow the $1.8 billion acquisition to be completed next week.

Geely agreed to purchase Volvo from Ford Motor Co on March 28^th marking the largest overseas acquisition from a Chinese automaker. Ford has sold a number of its European brands including Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar. Now, Volvo will be the last of Ford’s European car units to divest itself from, leaving it with its Ford and Lincoln brands and Mercury to be phased out later in the year.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) plans to complete the sale of Volvo to Geely sometime this week, according to a report from Auto News citing anonymous sources. Executives are hoping to close the sale pending final regulatory approval and financing, said the sources.

Under the deal, Ford will continue to supply engines to Volvo, as well as transmissions and other vehicle components. The Dearborn, MI-based automaker will also provide Geely engineering and technology support and access to tooling for common components for an unspecified period.

Volvo has about 200,000 employees globally, about 14,000 of which are in Sweden. Volvo netted a pretax profit of $53 million during the second quarter, compared with a $237 million loss during the same period in 2009, Ford announced early last week.

The sale of Volvo will complete Alan Mulally’s strategy of divesting Ford from European luxury lines to focus on Ford’s Lincoln and Mercury brands.

Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) traded down 1.54% on Friday hitting $12.77 during mid-day tradin.