Report says Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr prices IPO at $21, at the high end of its price range
A Zeekr 001 electric vehicle (EV) by Geely is displayed at the Zeekr booth during the media day for the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, China April 19, 2021.
Aly’s song | Reuters
Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr priced its initial public offering at $21 a share on Thursday, at the top end of its price range, according to news reports.
The company will sell 21 million American depositary shares to raise $441 million when it begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker symbol ZK, Reuters and Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. belong. The offering is at the high end of Zeekr’s expected range of $18 to $21 a share, disclosed in the F-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month.
Zeekr, backed by China-based auto group Geely, offers a number of luxury models, including a premium sedan for which it began deliveries in January. Geely will hold more than 50% company’s voting rights after the IPO is completed.
“Through the development and delivery of next-generation premium BEVs and technology-based solutions, we look forward to leading the charge for smart, electrification,” the company said in its SEC filing. transformation and innovation of the automobile industry”.
Zeekr can create great competition for Tesla, is said to have outpaced auto sales in Zhejiang province, China, in the first three weeks of April. This province is where the parent company is headquartered.
“Our sales gap with Tesla is narrowing,” Zeekr CEO Andy An told CNBC in an interview last month translated from Mandarin. He said the company plans to expand in Europe and Latin America this year and is already selling vehicles in Sweden and the Netherlands.
According to regulatory filings, Zeekr posted revenue of $7.28 billion in 2023 and a loss of $1.16 billion. The company also said it delivered 16,089 units in April.
Zeekr said it plans to use the proceeds from the offering to develop more advanced battery electric vehicle technologies. The fund will also be used for sales and marketing purposes, such as increasing fees, along with general corporate needs.
Underwriters for the deal include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and China International Capital.
