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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.
福特汽車昨日簽署協議，將旗下沃爾沃品牌以18億美元出售給吉利汽車，此舉 被視為一個象征，標志著全球汽車業的重心正從美國和西歐轉向中國。
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.
根據昨日在瑞典簽約的交易，吉利的母公司——浙江吉利控股集團將收購沃 爾沃及其資產的100%股權。吉利表示，此筆交易將使沃爾沃的汽車銷售量在五年 內接近翻倍，達到近60萬輛，主要是通過在吉利的本土市場構建市場份額。
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.
這是中國企業迄今對海外汽車制造商規模最大的收購交易，也是中國迄今在 收購知名豪華品牌方面的最大手筆。福特與吉利都表示，視監管批準進度，它們預 計此筆交易將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”.
吉利承諾保持沃爾沃在歐洲的制造基地(目前沃爾沃在瑞典有兩家汽車制造 廠,在比利時還有一家廠),但表示中國將成為“沃爾沃的第二個本土市場” 。
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.
沃爾沃的旅行及行政轎車素以安全、堅固聞名。吉利董事長李書福把總部位于 瑞典哥德堡的沃爾沃比喻為動物園里的一只“老虎”,稱這只老虎將被放出籠外，追 逐新的機遇。“我們需要解放這只老虎”,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.
對瑞典汽車業來說，這宗交易也結束了自一年多前美國擁有者宣布要出售沃 爾沃和薩博以來的不確定時期。通用汽車上月將薩博出售給了 荷蘭的世爵公司。
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，出售沃爾沃使其 實際得到的現金，將“大大”低于 18億美元的售價，這是因為在預 期的交易完成日，需要對養老金 赤字、債務、現金和營運資本進行的各項調整。
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.
吉利意識到，即便該公司要將沃爾沃的更多業務轉到中國，但必須注意保護沃 爾沃的優質形象。吉利表示，有意將這家瑞典汽車制造商作為一家獨立公司運營， 沃爾沃的管理團隊將以哥德堡為總部，還將有一個新的董事會。
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年斥資64.5億美元收購沃爾沃轎車，當時制造卡車的沃爾沃集團正要剝離轎車業務。當時這塊業務處于盈利狀態,但自那以來一直虧損。
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.
吉利并未說明它準備如何為這宗交易融資，但據一名簡要聽取了吉利商業計劃的人士稱，該公司巳在中國多家國有機構和省份安排了融資。吉利計劃在中國至 少建造三家沃爾沃工廠。
