Geely wants to make an IPO for British brand Lotus
Chinese company Geely announced plans for an initial public offering of its own sports car brand Lotus. According to representatives, the IPO could take place as early as this year.
The Lotus Cars division is based in the U.K. and is valued at more than $15 billion. Representatives of the Chinese manufacturer did not specify whether shares of the entire business or only the electric car division will be listed.
According to analysts’ preliminary estimates, Lotus could raise $1 billion during the offering. Geely plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its position in the Chinese market and expand its lineup of British-made electric cars. For now, the manufacturer is studying how interesting the brand’s products will be to potential investors, and how it will affect the company’s capitalization as a whole. In addition to Lotus, Geely may also carry out an IPO of another brand that produces cars on an electric motor – Polestar.
Lotus was founded in Britain in 1952, and is a manufacturer of sports cars. Many times the company’s products won the championship at famous races, including Formula 1. In 1986, the manufacturer was purchased by General Motors Corporation, and 10 years later the controlling stake was bought by the concern Proton from Malaysia, and already in 2017, Geely became the owner of 51% of Lotus securities, the remaining share belongs to the Malaysian company Etika Automotive. In 2019, the British brand introduced the Evija electric car, which has a power of 1972 hp and costs $2 million.
The Chinese car manufacturer Geely was founded in 1984 by billionaire Li Shufu. Initially the company was engaged in the production of refrigerators and components for them, and later reoriented to the automotive industry. Now the corporation is one of the largest in the Chinese market, it has industrial facilities at home and in other states, as well as operates research facilities in Sweden and China. Product design is carried out in Geely’s studios, which are located in Barcelona and Los Angeles.
In addition to Geely itself, until 2014 the corporation produced cars under different brand names – Emgrand, Englon and Gleagle, but after that it abandoned this option. During the same period, the corporation became the country’s leader in terms of exports. As of last year, the company’s capitalization was estimated at $8.4 billion.
Geely is included in the Fortune Global 500, it develops various lines of business and buys car manufacturers in other countries. The company owns an 8.2 percent stake in Swedish brand AB Volvo, which produces trucks.
