Chinese EV maker Zeekr prices IPO at $21, at the top end of range, reports say

Chinese
electric
vehicle
maker
Zeekr
priced
its
initial
public
offering
at
$21
a
share
Thursday,
at
the
top
end
of
its
range,
according
to
news
reports.

The
company
will
sell
21
million
American
depository
shares
to
raise
$441
million
when
it
begins
trading
on
the
New
York
Stock
Exchange
on
Friday
under
the
ticker
ZK,
Reuters
and
Bloomberg
News
reported,
citing
sources
familiar.
The
offering
sits
at
the
top
of
Zeekr’s
expected
range
of
$18
to
$21
a
share,

revealed
in
an
F-1
filing
with
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
earlier
this
month.

Zeekr,
which
is
backed
by
Chinese-based
automotive
group
Geely,
offers
several
luxury
vehicle
models,
including
an
upscale
sedan
it
began
delivering
in
January.
Geely
will
have
more
than
50%
of
the
company’s
voting
power
after
the
IPO
is
complete.

“Through
developing
and
offering
next-generation
premium
BEVs
and
technology-driven
solutions,
we
aspire
to
lead
the
electrification,
intelligentization
and
innovation
of
the
automobile
industry,”
the
company
said
in
its
SEC
filing.

Zeekr
could
pose
big
competition
for


Tesla,
which
it
reportedly
outpaced
in
car
sales
in
the
province
of
Zhejiang,
China,
during
the
first
three
weeks
of
April.
The
province
is
where
its
parent
company
is
based.

“Our
sales
gap
with
Tesla
keeps
on
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
it
already
sells
vehicles
in
Sweden
and
the
Netherlands.

According
to
the
regulatory
filing,
Zeekr
posted
$7.28
billion
in
revenue
for
2023
and
a
loss
of
$1.16
billion.
The
company
also
said
it
delivered
16,089
units
in
April.

Zeekr
has
said
it
plans
to
use
the
proceeds
from
the
offering
to
develop
more
advanced
battery
electric
vehicle
technologies.
Funds
will
also
be
used
for
selling
and
marketing
purposes,
such
as
growing
its
charging,
along
with
general
corporate
needs.

Underwriters
of
the
deal
include
Goldman
Sachs,
Morgan
Stanley,
Merrill
Lynch
and
China
International
Capital.