Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr, backed by Chinese-based automotive group Geely, is set to price its initial public offering (IPO) at $21 per share on May 9, 2024. The company aims to raise $441 million when it begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ZK.
Zeekr 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. The company aspires to lead the electrification, intelligentization and innovation of the automobile industry.
Despite a strong revenue of $7.28 billion for 2023 and delivering 16,089 units in April, Zeekr posted a loss of $1.16 billion for the year. The company plans to use the proceeds from the offering to develop more advanced battery electric vehicle technologies and for selling and marketing purposes.
Zeekr's IPO comes at a reduced valuation of around $5.2 billion, less than half of its previously announced $13 billion valuation in November 2023. Despite this change, the company is still expected to have a significant impact on the market as it poses big competition for Tesla.
Zeekr plans to expand in Europe and Latin America this year and already sells vehicles in Sweden and the Netherlands. The company's sales gap with Tesla keeps narrowing, according to CEO Andy An.
Despite its strong financial performance, Zeekr faced challenges during its initial attempt to come to market in November 2023. Bankers suggested a valuation of between $8 billion and $9 billion, which disappointed the company's top management.
