Geely’s Volvo Cars sets price range of 53-68 crowns/share in IPO By Reuters

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Shares in Geely-owned Volvo Cars will be priced within a range of 53 to 68 Swedish crowns ($6.12 to $7.86), valuing the company at 163 billion to 200 billion crowns in its initial public offering (IPO), the carmaker said on Monday.

Volvo Cars said earlier this month it planned to raise $2.9 billion through an IPO and list its shares on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange this year.

Sources told Reuters last month that Geely was in advanced discussions with banks to list the Swedish company in the coming weeks, aiming for a valuation of about $20 billion.

Volvo repeated that it expected the issue of new shares to provide the carmaker with gross proceeds of about 25 billion crowns before transaction costs, in what is likely to be one of Europe’s biggest listings this year.

The transaction, including expected converted investments by investors AMF and Folksam, was seen resulting in a free float of about 19.5% to 24.0%, Volvo said in a statement.

The Gothenburg-based company had previously said that owner Geely Holding would remain its biggest shareholder after the listing.

In 2018, Volvo Cars and Geely, which also owns an 8.2% stake in Sweden’s Volvo Trucks, postponed plans to float shares in the Swedish carmaker, citing trade tensions and a downturn in automotive stocks.