Zeekr filed a draft registration statement for a potential IPO with the SEC on December 7 on a confidential basis.
(Image credit: Zeekr)
Zeekr Intelligent Technology has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in new financing two months after the company filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US on a confidential basis.
Zeekr received $750 million in Series A financing from five investors -- Amnon Shashua, founder and CEO of Mobileye Global Inc (NASDAQ: MBLY), CATL, Yuexiu Industrial Fund, Tongshang Fund and Xin'an Intelligent Manufacturing Fund, its parent company, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, announced in a press release today.
Upon completion of the investment, Zeekr will be valued at $13 billion, Geely Holding's press release said.
Zeekr will use the funds to accelerate the global development of its proprietary technology and also aims to expand its global market coverage by entering the European market in 2023, according to the release.
Zeekr aims to reach annual sales of 650,000 units by 2025 and be among the top three in the world in terms of market share in premium electric vehicles, the release said.
"The Series-A fundraising is a vote of confidence in the growth prospects and strong future of Zeekr, which becomes the latest brand in the Geely Holding portfolio to secure a strong valuation," said Li Donghui, CEO of Geely Holding Group.
Zeekr was founded on April 15, 2021 and has R&D capabilities in Gothenburg, Sweden and Hangzhou, China, the release said. Notably, Zeekr previously said it was founded in March 2021 and launched its first model, the Zeekr 001, on April 15 of the same year.
The company began deliveries of the Zeekr 001 in October 2021 and has delivered more than 80,000 units to date. In January 2023, Zeekr began shipping its Zeekr 009 full-size electric MPV to customers.
Separately, Geely Automobile Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-listed entity controlled by Geely Holding, said in an exchange announcement that Zeekr signed agreements with the five investors on February 12 to issue a total of 139,375,669 shares of series A preferred stock to the latter.
These shares will represent about 5.77 percent of Zeekr's fully diluted and converted total share capital. Upon completion of the deal, Geely's shareholding in Zeekr will be reduced from 54.47 percent to 51.33 percent.
On December 13 last year, Geely Automobile Holdings said in an HKEX announcement that Zeekr filed a draft registration statement for a possible IPO with the SEC on December 7 on a confidential basis.
Zeekr will continue to be a non-wholly owned subsidiary of Geely Automobile Holdings after the spin-off is completed, the announcement said, adding that the maximum applicable percentage ratio for the spin-off may be expected to be more than 5 percent but less than 25 percent.
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