Geely said to finish acquiring Daimler shares soon

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- People from investment banks said that Geely has almost finished acquiring certain shares of Daimler Group at present and the deal is expected to be closed after the Spring Festival.

Even though it is reported that Daimler had rebuffed Geely’s offer to buy a stake of up to 5 percent, the Chinese automaker managed to buy Daimler shares on the secondary market. The purchaser is said to be Geely Holding Group, but the specific number of shares Geely has bought hasn’t been disclosed.

If Geely gets 5% Daimler shares, it will become the third largest shareholder of the luxury vehicle makers, following the Kuwait Investment Authority and BlackRock.

At the Detroit Auto Show, Dieter Zestche, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars revealed that Daimler has had off-the-record conversations with Geely but hasn’t made any decision. Daimler welcomes the investors who are interested in long-term investment, the chairman added.

Apart from buying shares in the Germany company, Geely was said to have interest in Daimler’s electric car battery technology and aims to set up an electric car joint venter in Wuhan with Daimler, which has joint ventures with another two Chinese automakers, BAIC and BYD.