Will Ford motor company sell it's Volvo Branch for more/less than 7 billion dollars ?

Ford Motor Co. said it may sell its Volvo unit, the company’s sole remaining European brand, a day before the second-largest U.S. automaker is scheduled to present a survival plan to federal lawmakers.

The review of options for Volvo was spurred by the worldwide auto decline and probably will take several months, Ford said today in a statement. Volvo, acquired in 1999 for $6.4 billion, was retained after a similar evaluation last year.

Shedding the Swedish unit would complete the unwinding of a two-decade strategy of diversifying by buying European luxury brands. Today’s move also helps Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford show Congress it’s taking action to reshape operations while making a case with General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC for $25 billion in U.S. financial aid.
Volvo was once central to a failed strategy by Ford to reap a third of its profits from luxury autos in 2006. The U.S. company began buying European automakers in 1987, when it purchased a controlling interest in U.K.-based Aston Martin. Ford acquired Jaguar in 1989 and Land Rover in 2000. Ford sold Aston Martin for $931 million in May 2007, and Jaguar and Land Rover in June of this year for $2.4 billion.

India’s Tata Motors Ltd. bought Jaguar and Land Rover for less than the $2.5 billion Ford paid in 1989 for Jaguar alone. The price also didn’t cover investments Ford made in the U.K. brands, including $2.1 billion in 2005 for a revamping of Jaguar.
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