China EV maker Zeekr shares climb 35% after expanded US IPO
US IPO activity. Since then, listings on New York exchanges by China-based companies have been small and rare. Zeekr’s valuation suffered in the aftermath, too.
The company said in February 2023 that it had been valued at $13 billion in a funding. Overcapacity in its domestic market also afflicts Zeekr and others such as BYD Co., leaving them eager to boost sales overseas. Zeekr warned investors in its prospectus that the Chinese government could intervene in its business to further its own regulatory, political and societal goals.
Zeekr founder and Chairman Li Shufu will control about 75% of the shareholder voting power in the company after the IPO, according to the filings. He now presides over an empire that includes two other EV makers that are publicly traded in the US, as well as Volvo Car AB in Stockholm. In February, Geely took automaker Lotus Technology Inc.
public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. That followed Geely’s Polestar Automotive Holding going public in a SPAC deal in 2022, and the listing of Volvo Car the previous year. Last year, Zeekr had a net loss of $1.16 billion on about $7.3 billion in revenue, with the latter increasing more than 60% from 2022, according to its filings.
The Zeekr lineup includes the 001, a five-seat crossover and the X, a compact sport utility vehicle. The brand has also launched the 007, a premium sedan. The IPO was led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp.
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