Stockholders in Sweden’s AB Volvo on Monday approved the $6.45 billion sale of its car unit to Ford Motor Co., clearing the way for foreign ownership of Sweden’s best-known brand.
The green light means that Volvo will be able to go ahead with a widely anticipated proposal, unveiled earlier Monday, to buy back $1.22 billion of its shares in a bid to return excess cash to shareholders.
In a speech to shareholders, Volvo Chief Executive Officer Leif Johansson said the company would intensify its efforts to seek synergies, but would not rush into any purchases.
“Acquisitions are not an end in themselves, but should be seen as part of a well-thought, long-term, far-seeking strategy to strengthen our core competence,” he said.
Volvo also said it had no plans to sell its 13 percent stake in rival truck and busmaker Scania–despite the failure of its efforts to buy the whole company–because it wanted to have an influence on any purchase by other contenders.
Monday’s vote was in contrast to the bitter rejection six years ago of a merger with another much bigger car company–France’s Renault– because of fears that control of Volvo and its jobs would move out of the country.
