China’s Geely moves to take EV startup Zeekr private amid trade war with US

China’s Geely Auto wants to instrumentality its luxury EV portion Zeekr disconnected the New York Stock Exchange 1 twelvemonth aft the company’s debut, per Zeekr filings. 

The take-private connection comes arsenic the Trump medication explores kicking Chinese companies off American banal exchanges, portion of a broader commercialized warfare that includes what has go a tariff quagmire betwixt the U.S. and China.

On Tuesday, Geely offered to wage $25.66 per Zeekr American Depository Receipt (ADS), oregon $2.566 per mean share, which was astir 14% higher than Zeekr’s Monday day closing price, successful a woody that values the institution astatine $6.5 billion. ADS holders tin besides opt to person 12.3 recently issued Geely shares per ADS. 

Aside from skirting imaginable geopolitical awkwardness, Geely has a batch to summation from taking Zeekr backstage and not overmuch to lose. Geely already owns 65.7% of Zeekr done its laminitis Li Shufu.  That means Geely would lone request to wage retired astir $2.2 cardinal to get the rest. For that price, Geely could assistance Zeekr sorb the marketplace blows that travel with being an EV startup successful a competitory marketplace and support its investment. 

Zeekr has yet to study first-quarter results, but the institution delivered a full of 125,250 vehicles crossed its 2 brands – Zeekr and Lynk & Co – successful the archetypal 4 months of 2025.

Zeekr is moving with autonomous conveyance institution Waymo to physique a purpose-built robotaxi for large-scale deployment successful the U.S. Neither institution has confirmed if it would impact their moving narration if Geely were to instrumentality the institution private, though Waymo earlier this week shared plans to integrate its self-driving strategy into the Zeekr conveyance astatine its new Arizona facility aboriginal this year.