Geely-backed Ecarx weighs SPAC merger at US$4b value

[HANGZHOU] Smart car technology company Ecarx, whose backers include Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is considering seeking a US listing via a merger with a blank-check company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Ecarx is working with an adviser to explore a deal that could value the combined entity at about US$4 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

The company is weighing reaching out to regulators in the country for approval for a special purpose acquisition company merger, one of the people said, in order to satisfy new requirements unveiled in December.

Separately, Geely is talking to advisers about a potential funding round for its commercial vehicles unit that could value it at as much as US$4 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The round could raise a few hundred million dollars, one of the people said. Geely is weighing an initial public offering for Geely Commercial Vehicle Group in 3 to 5 years, its chief executive officer told Bloomberg News in November.

Discussions around Ecarx and Geely's plans are preliminary and details such as valuation could still change, the people said. Ecarx didn't immediately respond to requests for comment, while a representative for Geely declined to comment.

Companies linked to Geely and its chairman Li Shufu are seeking to raise billions of dollars through share sales at home and abroad, as technologies such as electric vehicles and autonomous driving reach critical mass and spur enormous shifts in the automobile universe.

Polestar, the EV maker founded by Volvo Car AB and its owner Geely, plans to go public in a US$20 billion merger with a US SPAC this year. Volvo Car itself raised US$2.3 billion in a Stockholm IPO in October.

Founded in 2016 by Li and associates, Ecarx is an automotive-intelligence technology firm whose products include an autonomous driving system and vehicle central computing systems, according to its website.

Geely Automobile Holdings invested US$50 million in the firm to take a 1.5 per cent stake in September, according to a Hong Kong stock exchange filing.

The route to gather funds via US equity markets has been largely closed to Chinese firms since July, after a probe of ride-hailing giant Didi Global led to a crackdown by Chinese authorities on overseas listings.

A monthslong freeze on Chinese companies seeking to go public in the US appeared to thaw in February when a small medical device maker made its Nasdaq debut. BLOOMBERG