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Geely offers to buy full control of Zeekr at US$6.5 billion valuation, delist unit from NYSE

Take-private offer could cost Geely as much as US$2.24 billion, values the NYSE-listed firm at US$6.5 billion

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The Zeekr 9X plug-in hybrid SUV is displayed at the Auto Shanghai show. Photo: Reuters
Daniel Renin Shanghai
Geely Auto, China’s second-largest carmaker, aims to take full control of its subsidiary Zeekr Intelligent Technology and delist the premium electric vehicle (EV) unit from the New York Stock Exchange in a privatisation bid.

Geely, which owns 65.7 per cent of Zeekr, made a non-binding offer of US$2.566 per share for the remaining 34.3 per cent of the company in cash or shares, the company said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Wednesday. The move would create a unified listing platform, it added.

“It will also facilitate the group’s determination of Zeekr’s future strategic direction to address global market and economic challenges,” the company said. As Zeekr is a global brand targeting the high-end premium EV market, “taking full equity control over Zeekr is strategically significant for the group”, it added.

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The offer, at 13.6 per cent above Zeekr’s last traded price, could cost Geely as much as US$2.24 billion for the 873 million shares it does not already own, assuming an all-cash transaction, based on company data. The offer values the entire company at US$6.5 billion.

Investors could elect to receive all cash, or 1.23 new Geely Auto shares for each Zeekr share. The offer equals to US$25.66 for each of Zeekr’s American depositary shares (ADS). Geely intends to fund the purchase with cash, new shares or debt, the filing showed.

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Geely, controlled by billionaire Li Shufu, became the first Chinese company to attempt to delist a unit from US stock exchanges since US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month said “everything is on the table” regarding the fate of US-listed Chinese stocks, soon after President Donald Trump stoked a trade war with his so-called reciprocal tariffs.
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