After nearly two decades on different roads, the two businesses called Volvo are again going to be driven forward by the same owner.
Geely, the Chinese group that owns the carmaker Volvo, will become the largest shareholder in the listed truckmaker that shares its brand. The $3.8bn acquisition of an 8.2 per cent stake raises the prospect of one day reuniting the two parts of the Scandinavian vehicle maker that split in 1999 — and in the meantime, forging closer ties to generate synergies and new business opportunities for both.
“This is probably an initial step towards something bigger,” says one person involved in the negotiations, who declined to be named.