Influential Shareholders' Group Supports Volvo's Sale to Ford
The organization — Aktiespararna in Swedish — was the leader of the protest against Volvo's proposed merger with Renault in 1993.
Although it does not order its members how to vote, Aktiespararna's opinions are widely respected.
However, its approval of the sale — which is to be voted on Monday at a special shareholders' meeting — carried conditions.
Aktiespararna managing director Lars-Erik Forsgaardh told a news conference that the organization wants promises from large institutional holders of Volvo shares to commit themselves to giving Volvo enough time to consider how to use the cash coming in from the $6.45 billion sale.
"It's extremely risky to leave the company with this pile of cash without some sort of guarantee from the large owners. If the owners aren't prepared to give these guarantees, it's like letting a small child into the forest to meet a big pack of wolves," he said. "They have to commit themselves not to accept a bid from the first raider coming along."
Aktiespararna also wants Volvo at the shareholder meeting to clearly outline its strategy for developing after the sale of the car division.
Volvo chief executive Leif Johansson pushed for the car-division sale as a way to allow Volvo more opportunity to develop its other divisions, including trucks and buses.
Just weeks before proposing the sale to Ford, Volvo bought 13 percent of the shares in rival Swedish truck- and bus-maker Scania and started talks with Investor AB, which holds 45 percent of Scania's shares. But those talks ended last month.
Recent press reports have said Volvo is interested in acquiring truck-maker Navistar.
