Activist investor Cevian Capital has agreed to sell its 8.2% stake in Swedish truck maker AB Volvo to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Cevian and Geely announced in a joint statement on Wednesday.
They did not disclose the value of the transaction, which makes Geely Volvo’s largest owner by capital and the second biggest by voting rights after investment firm Industrivarden, Reuters reported, Reuters reported.
Financial Times says Geely will pay about $3.8b to Cevian Capital, Europe’s largest activist investor, for a stake in Volvo Group with 8.2% of the capital and 15.6% of the vote.
Geely is also the owner of Volvo Car Group. Talk of reuniting the two brands — split up when Volvo Group sold Volvo Cars to Ford in 1999 — is “premature”, according to people close to the transaction.
But Geely sees considerable potential for joint marketing between the two Volvos, shared technology projects on issues such as autonomous driving and electric vehicles, and the chance to help the truckmaker perform better in China where it has struggled, the people added.
“We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Cevian to acquire its holding in AB Volvo, making us the largest shareholder by capital in a company that leads the world in many aspects of commercial vehicle development, manufacturing and sales,” Geely Chairman Li Shufu said.
“We will support the board of directors and the management of AB Volvo in their continued execution of the current strategy,” he added.
Nomura International Plc and Barclays Capital Securities Limited have agreed to acquire Cevian Capital’s shares, and will sell them to Geely when the necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained, the companies said.
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