Volvo confirms listing plan, Geely's equity dilution

Recently, Volvo Cars, a subsidiary of Geely, issued a statement announcing that it has successfully obtained 5 billion Swedish kronor (532 million U.S. dollars) in capital from Swedish investors through the latest issuance of preferred shares, taking another step towards the company's listing. In addition, Volvo also stated that the successful financing will dilute Geely's equity.

As sales and profits rose, speculation about Volvo's IPO grew over the past year, but Volvo said on December 14 that it had no plans to go public. Less than a week after denying its plans, Volvo announced that it had successfully raised funds.

There are three companies that have invested in this round, namely the Swedish pension fund company AMF, the Swedish National Pension Reserve Fund (AP1) and the Swedish insurance company Folksam. Volvo said that these companies can convert preferred shares into listed common shares according to their own wishes. Volvo said that shareholders will decide whether to repurchase preferred shares or convert them into listed common shares according to their own wishes, but no final decision has been made yet.

"This public offering is another step closer to Volvo's long-standing dream of going public," Volvo said in a statement.

The specific terms of Volvo's fundraising were not disclosed, but Volvo said the transaction would dilute Zhejiang Geely Group's 100% ownership of it.

Prior to this offering, Volvo had already issued two bonds this year. In May, Volvo received 500 million euros (519 million U.S. dollars) in corporate bonds from global investors. In November, Volvo received 3 billion Swedish kronor bonds from Swedish investors. Volvo said that the reason for the offering was to broaden Volvo Cars' financing channels, increase the company's overall interests and its financial flexibility.

Strong financial sales performance and comprehensive development of vehicle technology

As things stand, Volvo's financial performance is very strong. Thanks to the strong demand for the new XC90 SUV, Volvo's global sales from January to November this year were 473,528 units, up 7% year-on-year, and are expected to set a new sales record for three consecutive years. Volvo's full-year operating profit in 2015 was 6.6 billion Swedish kronor, and in the first nine months of this year, Volvo's operating profit has surpassed last year's full-year profit, reaching 7.7 billion Swedish kronor.

Volvo said in a statement that since it was acquired by Zhejiang Geely Group in 2010, Volvo has continuously expanded its product line and actively conducted research and development in the fields of powertrain, chassis technology, information security and interconnection technology. In the future, Volvo Cars will continue to compete with other luxury car brands, revitalize its operations in the United States, maintain its growth momentum in the Chinese market, increase its market share in Europe, and build production bases globally.

In addition, Volvo will launch new models based on its latest engine technology and will maintain its absolute advantage in the fields of automotive safety and automatic timing technology. In the field of autonomous driving, Volvo cooperated with Uber to develop autonomous driving cars, and then announced the establishment of a joint venture with Autoliv to produce and sell AD autonomous driving cars and driving assistance software.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.