Geely may need $1.4b to put Volvo back on track

STOCKHOLM - Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co may have to spend at least 10 billion kronor ($1.4 billion) to revive Volvo Cars after buying the Swedish brand from Ford Motor Co, Volvo union officials and board members said.

The figure would be "an absolute minimum" for financing car development, marketing, production and distribution in the next year, and the money needed could be double that amount, Glenn Magnusson, head of the managers' union at Gothenburg, Sweden-based Volvo, said.

Ford and Geely will probably sign a purchase agreement on the estimated $2 billion transaction towards the end of the month, according to three people familiar with the talks.