Zeekr plans to begin a new round of communications with investors in late August with an IPO valuation expected to be well over $13 billion, according to local media.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Geely Holding Group's premium electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary Zeekr plans to begin a new round of communications with investors in late August and aims to raise around $1 billion in a future initial public offering (IPO), according to a report by Cailian today.
At yesterday's Geely interim earnings meeting, Zeekr CEO Andy An said Zeekr will continue to closely track capital market developments and will choose the right window to go public, the report noted.
Taken in the context of recent business progress, Zeekr's IPO valuation is expected to be well over $13 billion, the report said.
On December 13, 2022, Geely said in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange announcement that Zeekr filed a draft registration statement for a potential IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on December 7 on a confidential basis.
Zeekr will continue to be a non-wholly owned subsidiary of Geely Automobile Holdings after the completion of the spin-off, the announcement said, adding that it is expected that the maximum applicable percentage ratios for the spin-off may be more than 5 percent but less than 25 percent.
On December 12, 2022, Reuters cited three people familiar with the matter as saying that Zeekr had confidentially filed for a US IPO, aiming to raise more than $1 billion.
Zeekr was seeking a valuation of more than $10 billion, which would be the first major US IPO by a Chinese company in a year and a half, the report said.
The company planned to go public in New York as early as the second quarter of 2023, as previously reported by Reuters. However, that did not become a reality.
Zeekr plans to meet an annual sales target of 650,000 by 2025, An said in a release yesterday after Geely announced its first-half results.
Zeekr's first model is the Zeekr 001 shooting brake, the second is the Zeekr 001 MPV and the third is the Zeekr X city SUV, all of which are niche models in the Chinese market.
The company will launch a new sedan by the end of the year and two new SUVs next year, according to An.
The three models Zeekr has already launched are products aimed at niche segments, while the next three new models will cover mainstream segments, so sales will scale up, he said yesterday.
