Geely Moves to Take Zeekr Private in $2.2 Billion Deal Amid EV Market Shakeup

ZEEKR to Go Public on NYSE in 2024

AsianFin -- Chinese auto giant Geely Auto has made a $2.2 billion offer to take its electric vehicle unit Zeekr private, just one year after taking the premium EV brand public in the U.S., as it looks to streamline operations and sharpen its competitive edge in a cutthroat market.

Geely is offering $25.66 per American Depositary Share (ADS) of Zeekr, representing a 13.6% premium to Tuesday's closing price. The offer implies a valuation of $6.52 billion for Zeekr, according to Reuters calculations. Shares of Zeekr jumped 11.1% to $25.10 in U.S. premarket trading following the announcement.

The Hangzhou-based automaker currently owns 65.7% of Zeekr's outstanding share capital and would need to pay $2.2 billion to acquire the remaining 34.3%.

Geely said Zeekr will be fully merged into Geely Auto upon completion of the deal. "In the face of fierce market competition and an increasingly complex economic environment, we will assess the situation and... continue to promote the integration of our automotive business," Geely Chairman Li Shufu said in a statement on WeChat, referencing the company's internal "Taizhou Declaration."

The move underscores a broader pivot by Geely Holding — which also owns Volvo and Polestar — from years of acquisition-fueled growth to internal consolidation and cost optimization. Last year, Li called for stronger synergies between brands and a crackdown on internal overlap as part of the Taizhou Declaration, a strategy aimed at boosting efficiency and focus across its automotive empire.

As part of the restructuring, Geely has been reorganizing its business into two core divisions: Geely Auto, serving the mass market, and Zeekr Group, targeting premium EV consumers. In March, the company merged three digital cockpit development units, totaling nearly 2,000 engineers, into a single team to further drive operational efficiency.