On May 10, Geely Automobile announced that it has signed a share subscription agreement with Renault Korea Automobile, a Korean subsidiary of the French Renault Group, and Geely Automobile intends to subscribe for 45.375 million shares of Renault Korea Automobile for 264 billion won.
It is reported that Geely Automobile will subscribe for shares through its subsidiary Centurion Industries Limited, holding 34.02% of the shares, and after the completion of the transaction, Renault Group will still be the largest shareholder of Renault Korea Motors.
As early as July 2021, Geely Automobile's parent company Geely Holding Group and Renault Group, the parent company of Renault Korea Automobile, have completed the signing of a memorandum of understanding to establish an innovative partnership.
The cooperation includes the development of hybrid models in asian markets, including China and South Korea, through Geely Holding Group's advanced platform technology and Renault's strengths in brand strategy, content and channels, ecological service development and optimization of user journeys.
In January this year, the two companies announced that they will develop a new energy-saving hybrid model in the Korean market, and mass production is expected to be completed in 2024. The new car will use Geely Automobile's CMA architecture and hybrid technology, while Renault will provide forward-looking technology and styling design, and will be produced in Korea, and will be marketed and serviced through Renault's existing sales and after-sales network in Korea. The company's after-sales system has ranked first in the local market for six consecutive years.
Geely has made frequent big moves in overseas market expansion in recent years, and has repeatedly announced blockbuster mergers and acquisitions, including a US$1.8 billion acquisition of volvo cars, an acquisition of 51% of the sports car brand Lotus, an acquisition of 49.9% of the shares of The Malaysian Proton Automobile Group, and an acquisition of 9.69% of the shares of Daimler Group, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz.