Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding) has announced that its subsidiaries, Geely Automobile Holdings (Geely Auto) and Zeekr Intelligent Technology (Zeekr), have officially signed a merger agreement. With this, Geely Auto will acquire all outstanding shares of Zeekr it doesn’t already hold, with Zeekr shareholders given the option to receive either cash or Geely Auto shares are consideration.
This will effectively privatise Zeekr, which will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange just over a year after it went public via an initial public offering on May 10, 2024. According to Geely Holding, the move marks a key step in the implementation of the ‘Taizhou Declaration’ and advancing the ‘Return to One Geely’ strategy. It adds that this will promote deeper and efficient coordination of internal resources, while also eliminating redundant investments and enhancing overall competitiveness.
Upon completion of the merger, which is expected to be completed in Q4 this year, Zeekr will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely Auto. Zeekr is valued at USD6.83 billion, with Geely Auto already owning about 62.8%. Previously, the latter offered USD2.2 billion in May this year for the remaining stake, but this has been raised to around USD2.4 billion. As such, it will purchase the remaining stake at USD2.687 per share, or USD26.87 per American depositary share.
“As a responsible enterprise, Geely Auto has always prioritised the interests of investors and users. The merger aims to create a win-win outcome. We are fully committed to driving the post-merger company toward greater development and delivering sustained long-term value for all shareholders,” said Gui Shengyue, CEO and executive director of Geely Auto.
“Last year, Geely Holding Group released the Taizhou Declaration, marking a new phase of strategic transformation. Significant progress has been made towards the ‘Return to One Geely’ strategy. With this merger, a more solid foundation will be laid towards a brighter future for Geely Auto,” commented Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding.
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