A unit of Apollo Future Mobility Group Ltd. will buy Chinese electric vehicle maker WM Motor Holdings Ltd. for $2.02 billion, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
(Bloomberg) — A unit of Apollo Future Mobility Group Ltd. will buy Chinese electric vehicle maker WM Motor Holdings Ltd. for $2.02 billion, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The acquisition, which includes issuance of shares at HK$0.55 each, is still subject to a “wide range of factors,” including regulatory approvals, Apollo said in the filing Thursday. It’s essential to raise financing to boost WM’s cash reserves to supplement cash flow and working capital needs, the company added.
WM, a privately held startup founded by Freeman Shen, a former chief executive officer of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., sold 44,152 electric sport utility vehicles in 2021, more than double the previous year, according to the filing. After launching its M7 model in 2023, the company expects to have five models on the market.
As Apollo Future Mobility “continues to transform into and build up its position as a leading mobility services provider,” the board agreed to seek “suitable opportunities in the smart EV business,” Chairman Ho King Fung said in a separate statement.
Local Chinese media reported in November that WM was considering job and salary cuts. WM has received investments from backers such as Baidu Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. and plans to integrate Baidu’s self-driving capability into its vehicles, BloombergNEF wrote in September.
“An IPO was rumored in 2020 and 2021, but plans haven’t materialized,” according to BNEF. WM was considering raising about $1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said in June last year, and pre-listing documents were filed with the bourse’s website.
Apollo Future Mobility’s Hong Kong-traded shares sunk 5.1% Thursday, the most in more than a month.
(Updates with chairman statement in 4th paragraph, shares in final.)
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