Zeekr to take over Lynk in major Geely restructuring, sources say

Zeeker to own 51% of Lynk – source

The deal values ​​Lynk at approximately $2.5 billion – source

There is some overlap in the products of these two brands

(Adds Volvo Cars comment in paragraph 7)

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Chinese high-end electric car maker Zeekr will acquire Geely Auto and Volvo Cars’ sister brand Lynk & Co, two sources with direct knowledge of the plan said.

It is the first major restructuring move in a sweeping restructuring planned by Geely Holding, the parent company of all three automakers and nine other car or truck brands, as the company shifts away from acquisitions to streamline operations and cut costs.

According to the agreement, Zeekr will acquire Volvo Cars’ entire 30% stake in Lynk and Geely Holding’s 20% stake, sources said.

Zeekr will then increase its stake to 51% through a capital injection, while the group’s main listed subsidiary Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd will continue to hold the remaining shares, one of the sources said.

The deal values ​​the Sino-Swiss brand at about 18 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) and is expected to be completed in June next year, the person said.

Details of the planned deal have not been previously reported.

Volvo Cars said in a statement that it had discussed the possibility of selling its stake in Lynk & Co, but no formal decision had been made. It did not elaborate further.

Geely Holdings declined to comment.

Geely Chairman Li Keqiang announced the group’s restructuring plan in September, telling employees that deep integration was needed to improve efficiency and reduce costs. He added that all brands in the group should clearly position their models to avoid overlap.

Analysts say Zeekr and Lynk have some overlap in similar products and pricing, undermining each other’s sales.

Within the group, Zeekr is expected to lead innovation in electric and connected cars and share that research with other brands including Lynk and Polestar, a source and a third person with direct knowledge of the integration said.

Lynk’s product team began reporting to Zeekr CEO Andy An last week and has had discussions about leveraging more technology and components shared by the two automakers, a third person said.

Lynk’s two latest electric models, the Z10 and Z20, share the same architecture as Zeekr’s cars, while its petrol and hybrid models use different platforms developed by Geely and Volvo Cars.

Lynk was launched in 2016 and currently has nine models. Sales in the first nine months of this year were approximately 195,600 units, an increase of 40% over the same period last year.

In comparison, three-year-old brand Zeekr sold a total of 6 models and nearly 143,000 units in the first nine months of 2024, an increase of 81%.

Zeekr went public in New York in May and has since seen its shares rise nearly 40%, giving it a market value of $7.3 billion.

($1 = 7.2425 yuan) (Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong and Zhang Yan in Shanghai; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)