Chinese EV Makers to Combine. Geely Is Buying Zeekr.

Chinese EV maker Zeekr agreed to be acquired by controlling shareholder Geely. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)

So long Zeekr Intelligent Technology, we barely knew you.

A little more than a year from the company’s initial public offering, Chinese electric-vehicle maker Zeekr agreed to be acquired by its controlling shareholder, Chinese auto maker Geely Automobile Holdings.

Tuesday, Zeekr announced the merger. Shareholders will receive $2.687 in cash per Zeekr share or 1.23 shares of Geely. Holders of U.S.-listed American depositary receipts will receive $26.87 in cash or 12.3 shares of Geely. Each ADR represents 10 shares of Zeekr stock.

The cash take-out price is lower than the $27.82 Monday closing price of Zeekr ADRs. However, they were trading for less than $26 in late June. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Zeekr completed its U.S. IPO in May 2024 at $21 per ADR. It has a market value of about $7 billion. Zeekr delivered 222,123 EVs in 2024, and isn’t profitable yet.

Geely is a Chinese auto maker with a market value of about $23 billion. It sold about 2.2 million vehicles in 2024, 1.8 million of them in China, and is profitable. The company has relationships with Zeekr, Volvo, Polestar, Lotus Technology, and others.

Zeekr ADRs added 2.1%, closing at $28.48 on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 fell o.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1%.

The price is above the cash takeover price, but 12.3 shares of Geely are worth about $28.54 a share at recent prices for Geely.

Coming into Tuesday trading, Zeekr stock was down about 2% year to date, and up about 46% over the past 12 months.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com