U.S. carmaker Ford Motor Co looks set to sign the deal to sell its Swedish Volvo unit to China's Geely on Sunday, in what would be the largest-ever purchase of a foreign automaker by a Chinese counterpart.

Following is a TIMELINE tracing some of the proposed, failed or ongoing deals between Western carmakers and Chinese companies reported over the last year:

June 3, 2009 - Little-known heavy machinery maker Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery unveils tentative deal to buy GM's Hummer.

July 6, 2009 - Italian automaker Fiat agrees to 50:50 joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co Ltd to produce car engines in China.

July 23, 2009 - GM rejects bid from Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) for its Opel brand; keeps talking to rival bidders.

Aug 30, 2009 - The parent of China's Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd is sole bidder for Ford's Volvo unit, a Swedish business daily reports.

Sept 9, 2009 - BAIC agrees to take minority stake in Koenigsegg as part of the Swedish firm's bid to purchase GM's Saab.

Sept 17, 2009 - Geely approaches Magna International about a possible stake in Opel; Magna refrains for now from any such partnership as negotiations with GM to buy the unit continue.

Oct 9, 2009 - GM signs deal to sell Hummer to an investment partnership headed by China's Tengzhong.

Oct 12, 2009 - Tengzhong seeks regulatory approval for Hummer buy, aims to close deal by early 2010.

Oct 28, 2009 - Ford chooses Geely as preferred bidder for Volvo. Media reports put sale price closer to $2 billion than the $6.5 billion Ford paid for Volvo in 1999.

Nov 3, 2009 - GM opts to keep Opel.

Nov 24, 2009 - Koenigsegg pulls out of talks to buy Saab.

Nov 30, 2009 - BAIC says may still be interested in buying Saab after Koenigsegg talks collapse.

Dec 7, 2009 - GM in talks with BAIC about a partial sale of Saab assets, including tooling and technology.

Dec 14, 2009 - BAIC buys Saab assets, including intellectual property for its 9-5 and 9-3 sedans.

Dec 22, 2009 - Sources say Ford is making headway in Volvo sale talks with Geely

Dec 23, 2009 - BAIC says it will launch an aggressive campaign to develop its brand both at home and overseas after buying Saab technology.

Dec 23, 2009 -- Ford says it has settled all substantive commercial terms for its sale of Volvo to Geely, and expects the deal to close in the second quarter of 2010.

Dec 31, 2009 -- Geely says parent has strong support from Chinese government to acquire Volvo.

Jan 26, 2010 -- Geely to nearly double Volvo's annual global output with a new factory in Beijing as part of its plan to pull Volvo out of the red by 2011, a source tells Reuters.

Feb 24, 2010 -- Beijing rejects Tengzhong's bid to buy Hummer, prompting GM to say it will wind down the brand.

March 23, 2010 -- Geely says its talks to buy Volvo are on track and it expects to sign an agreement in about a week, ahead of a March 31 deadline.

Source: Reuters (Compiled by Gillian Murdoch and Doug Young, editing by Will Waterman)

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