Ford to Buy Volvo Division
28 January 1999
Ford to Buy Volvo Division
Ford Motor Co. is buying the passenger car division of Sweden's Volvo AB
for $6.45 billion, adding another premium brand name to the portfolio of the
world's No. 2 automaker. Under the agreement announced today, Ford is
expected to assume ownership of Volvo Cars' worldwide sites, including three
assembly plants and two powertrain plants in Europe and the passenger-vehicle
product development center in Gothenburg, Sweden. Ford also gets the right to
use the Volvo brand for passenger cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles and
light trucks. Volvo retains its corporate brand for commercial vehicles and
non-automotive products.
The following individuals can provide editors and reporters with
commentary and background on these stories. They are leading experts with
varying perspectives included in ProfNet's Experts Database. You'll find
complete entries at http://www.profnet.com/ped. [NOTE: Not having contacted these
individuals, we know neither their perspective on recent developments nor
their immediate availability.]
James Brock, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, Professor of Economics
Luke M. Froeb, Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, Tenn., Assistant Professor of Management
James A. Ward, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, Professor of History
Daniel Sperling, University of California, Davis, Director of the UC Davis
Institute of Transportation Studies and Professor of Civil and Environmental
Engineering and Environmental Studies
James Brock's teaching and research focus on the structure and performance
of industry and public policy toward business, including antitrust,
regulation, import competition and mergers and takeovers. Co-author of "The
Bigness Complex: Industry, Labor and Government in the American Economy,"
previously selected as a best business book by Business Week. Promotes the
idea that big is not better. In fact, in business, labor and government,
it's worse. Argues that corporate bigness and power -- typically in
conjunction with large labor unions and a compliant state -- operate to
undermine production efficiency, impair technological advance and erode the
international competitiveness of the American economy. Provides a contrary
viewpoint to those who talk about mergers in the typical fashion. To him,
mergers are not a "win-win" situation. Has written other books on this and
related topics, including "Dangerous Pursuits: Mergers and Acquisitions in
the Age of Wall Street" (1989), "Antitrust Economics on Trial: a Dialogue
on the New Laissez-Faire" (1991), and "Adam Smith Goes to Moscow: a Dialogue
on Radical Reform" (1993).
CONTACT: News Bureau, 513-529-7592
Luke Froeb is one of the leading scholars in the field of antitrust
policy. Served with the Reagan & Bush Justice Departments as an economist in
the Antitrust Division and as consulting economist to several other government
agencies including the Sentencing Commission, Civil Rights and Lands Divisions
of the Justice Department and NASA. Earned the "Outstanding" Performance
Rating for four consecutive years and was a three-time winner of its
Special Achievement Award. Has written extensively on the use and misuse of
statistical methodology in merger and bid rigging cases. Current research
interest is in predicting the effects of mergers, the effectiveness of
expert witness testimony, and identifying shocks to the economy. eveloped
computer aided merger simulation software that has been adopted by both the
FTC and DOJ for use in analyzing the anti-competitive effects of mergers.
Co-recipient of a grant to develop on-line teaching materials. Has marketed
software for teaching regression analysis to lay persons. His Click&Learn
Regression software (http://nsns.com/click/) is innovative in its approach
to teaching this highly technical subject. His Antitrust Policy web site
was featured in Fortune magazine, American Lawyer, and Antitrust Magazine,
calling it: "Probably the most creative antitrust location on the Internet,
and one that best demonstrates the potential and promise of the World Wide
Web is the Vanderbilt Antitrust Policy Project. Vanderbilt University
supports a number of legal interest Internet sites, and this one is
moderated by Vanderbilt economist Professor Luke Froeb. In addition to
basic documents and court materials, the site also provides a forum for
discussion of the economic aspects of antitrust policy, mergers, vertical
integration, and price fixing." --Antitrust Magazine (July, 1995).
CONTACT: Jill S. Gabbe or Craig R. Andrews, Gabbe & Gabbe, 212-220-4444
James Ward is an expert on the history of railroads and automobiles in the
U.S. Emphasis on how history reflects American character. Most recent book
"The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company" (Stanford University Press, 1995)
hailed for analysis of firm that survived the Great Depression then failed
during the post-War boom. Working on a biography of W.H. "Ping" Ferry, 20th
century radical philanthropist. Other books include "J. Edgar Thomson: Master
of the Pennsylvania" (1980), "That Man Haupt: A Biography of Herman Haupt"
(1973), "Railroads and the Character of America" (1986) and "American History:
A Brief View" (1978).
CONTACT: Marc Cutright or Carolyn Mitchell, UTC University Relations
Office, 423-755-4363
Daniel Sperling is a national academic expert on the environmental,
public-policy and marketing issues of electric cars and other alternative-
fueled vehicles. Head of an innovative research and teaching center called
the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, internationally recognized
for its broad, multidisciplinary approach to studying the complexities of
transportation systems. Reports from Sperling's research group often make
the news. Recent innovative consumer market studies have led to a more
accurate picture of the market for electric vehicles. Studies in air
quality and modeling have led to more precise measurements and standards.
Author of five books, including the recent title "Future Drive: Electric
Vehicles and Sustainable Transportation." Present and founding chair of the
Alternative Fuels Committee of the Transportation Research Board. Member,
National Academy of Sciences committee on transportation and a sustainable
environment.
CONTACT: Carol Cruzan Morton, UC Davis News Service, 916-752-7704
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