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Business Recorder
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Recorder
China carmaker Geely shares rise nearly 7% after Zeekr unit offer
HONG KONG: Shares of Chinese automaker Geely Automobile jumped nearly 7% on Thursday after it offered to pay $2.2 billion to privatise its unit Zeekr, just a year after it took the electric vehicle brand public in the United States. Geely's shares rose as much as 6.7% in early trade to HK$17.90 ($2.30). Geely offered to pay $25.66 in case or 12.3 in newly issued shares per Zeekr's American Depositary Share, a premium of 13.6% to the stock's closing price on Tuesday. 'This appears an opportunistic proposal,' said David Blennerhassett, content strategist at financial services firm Ballingal Investment Advisors who publishes on SmartKarma, adding that Geely had almost sufficient votes to take Zeekr private given its 65.7% stake in the firm. 'Geely already controls and consolidates Zeekr, so the impact, if any, will come from the cost outlayed for shares not held - which could be largely mitigated under the scrip option.' Geely said it wanted to consolidate its business to fend off fierce competition in China's largest auto market. The company, which owns multiple brands including Volvo, has been pivoting away from its history of aggressive acquisitions to streamlining operations and cutting costs. Zeekr, which was founded in 2021 as a premium electric vehicle brand of Geely, went public in the US in May last year at a valuation of $6.8 billion, the first major listing by a Chinese company in the country since 2021. But investor concerns over whether Chinese companies could be forced to delist US exchanges have reemerged since the tit-for-tat trade war between the world's two largest economies. Zeekr was named in a letter by two Republican lawmakers to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that called for 25 Chinese companies to be delisted from US exchanges, saying they had military links that put US national security at risk. Zeekr did not respond to a request for comment on the letter. Li Yanwei, analyst at the China Auto Dealers Association, said that privatising Zeekr was the best choice for both companies at the moment given multiple headwinds, such as slower than expected sales for Zeekr's new products such as the 7X and US-China tensions. China's Geely Holding targets over 5 million units of annual sales by 2027 The Trump administration has also imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese EVs, blocking in essence Zeekr from selling in the US 'The capital market is less enthusiastic about Chinese new energy vehicle companies, and the possibility of refinancing in the US capital market is much lower,' he said.
Straits Times
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Chinese carmaker Geely offers to take its EV init Zeekr private in $2.85 billion deal
Geely wants to consolidate its business to fend off fierce competition in China. PHOTO: REUTERS HONG KONG - Shares of Chinese automaker Geely Automobile jumped nearly 7 per cent on May 8 after it offered to pay US$2.2 billion (S$2.85 billion) to privatise its unit Zeekr, just a year after it took the electric vehicle brand public in the United States. Geely's shares rose as much as 6.7 per cent in early trade to HK$17.90 ($2.30). Geely offered to pay US$25.66 in case or 12.3 in newly issued shares per Zeekr's American Depositary Share, a premium of 13.6 per cent to the stock's closing price on May 6. 'This appears an opportunistic proposal,' said David Blennerhassett, content strategist at financial services firm Ballingal Investment Advisors who publishes on SmartKarma, adding that Geely had almost sufficient votes to take Zeekr private given its 65.7 per cent stake in the firm. 'Geely already controls and consolidates Zeekr, so the impact, if any, will come from the cost outlayed for shares not held - which could be largely mitigated under the scrip option.' Geely said it wanted to consolidate its business to fend off fierce competition in China's largest auto market. The company, which owns multiple brands including Volvo, has been pivoting away from its history of aggressive acquisitions to streamlining operations and cutting costs. Zeekr, which was founded in 2021 as a premium electric vehicle brand of Geely, went public in the US in May 2024 at a valuation of US$6.8 billion, the first major listing by a Chinese company in the country since 2021. But investor concerns over whether Chinese companies could be forced to delist US exchanges have reemerged since the tit-for-tat trade war between the world's two largest economies. Zeekr was named in a letter by two Republican lawmakers to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that called for 25 Chinese companies to be delisted from U.S. exchanges, saying they had military links that put US national security at risk. Li Yanwei, analyst at the China Auto Dealers Association, said that privatising Zeekr was the best choice for both companies at the moment given multiple headwinds, such as slower than expected sales for Zeekr's new products such as the 7X and US-China tensions. The Trump administration has also imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese EVs, blocking in essence Zeekr from selling in the US. 'The capital market is less enthusiastic about Chinese new energy vehicle companies, and the possibility of refinancing in the US capital market is much lower,' he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
26-01-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Greatview says chairman-led takeover proposal off the table
Summary Companies XJF bid for Greatview became unconditional this week 46.71% of Greatview shareholders had voted in favour of XJF bid Greatview chairman and co-founder had mulled counter-offer Jan 24 (Reuters) - Hong Kong-listed dairy packaging firm Greatview Aseptic said on Friday a potential bid from a group of its managers, including its chairman, would not proceed, days after a buyout offer from a Shenzhen-listed rival became unconditional. Shandong Newjf Technology Packaging ( opens new tab, known as Xinjufeng, offered to buy Greatview ( opens new tab in May, valuing it at HK$3.73 billion ($478.92 million). Greatview said earlier this week that the offer from Xinjufeng had become unconditional, with 46.71% of shareholders voting in favour. Arguably, Xinjufeng is already in control of Greatview, said David Blennerhassett, an analyst at Smartkarma. Greatview chairman Jeff Bi and co-founder Hong Gang in August sent a non-binding letter of interest to the firm, saying they were mulling a potential counter-offer. Bi and Gang together owned a stake of around 15% in the firm and had called Xinjufeng's proposal a "cynical attempt" by a smaller competitor to disrupt Greatview's operations and business, adding the bid was "opportunistic" and "unattractive". Xinjufeng became Greatview's largest shareholder after acquiring a 28% stake in the company in 2023 from Singapore-listed Jardine Matheson ( opens new tab. Greatview, according to its website, manufactures and sells filling machines and paper packaging non-carbonated and dairy soft drink producers. The firm posted a net profit after tax of 117.5 million Chinese yuan ($16.22 million) for the six months ended June, and reported revenue of 1.63 billion yuan. Shares in the company closed on Friday at HK$2.63. They hit Xinjufeng's offer price of HK$2.65 earlier in the week, reaching a record high. ($1 = 7.7883 Hong Kong dollars) ($1 = 7.2454 Chinese yuan renminbi)
