AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)03/02 Report--

At noon on March 2, Geely announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that Geely Holdings, Renault, Saudi Arabian OilCompany (Saudi Aramco) and the company had signed a letter of intent that Saudi Aramco intended to take a minority stake in the proposed joint venture in the form of cash investment. Geely Holdings and the company, as one party, and Renault as the other, expect their respective holdings in the remaining shares of the proposed joint venture to be the same. As of the date of announcement, no final binding agreement has been concluded between the parties.

According to public information, Saudi Aramco is the world's largest oil production company and the sixth largest oil refiner in the world, with operations throughout the kingdom and the world, mainly engaged in oil exploration, development, production, refining, transportation and sales. Saudi Aramco's net profit in 2020 fell about 45 per cent from the previous year as the COVID-19 epidemic hit global energy market demand, according to Saudi Aramco's 2020 results. In May 2022, Saudi Aramco overtook American technology giant Apple to become the world's most valuable company, and in the same year, Saudi Aramco tried to announce a partnership with Hyundai to develop advanced fuels that could be used in hybrid engines. to reduce vehicle carbon emissions.

In November 2022, Geely Holdings and Geely Automobile and Renault announced the formation of a joint venture with a 50:50 stake, which will become an independent global provider of powertrain solutions to produce next-generation hybrid systems and develop low-carbon and low-emission technologies through five global R & D centers. In addition, the joint venture is expected to provide products to Renault and Geely brands including Renault, Dacia, Geely, Volvo, Lecker, Proton, Nissan and Mitsubishi, as well as powertrain technology to third-party brands in the future.

The cooperation between Geely and Renault began in January 2022, when Geely Holdings announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with France's Renault Group to establish a long-term strategic partnership to expand the Korean market. The two sides plan to launch a new range of models in the South Korean market, including fuel and hybrid cars, which will be produced by Renault Samsung's plant in Busan, South Korea, and are expected to be mass produced in 2024. In May of the same year, the two sides further signed a share subscription agreement, Geely subscribed for 45.375 million shares of Renault Korea Motor for 1.376 billion yuan, equivalent to a price of about 30.3 yuan per target share. After the completion of the deal, Geely will hold a 34.02% stake in Renault Korea through its subsidiary Centurion Industries Limited, Renault will retain its majority shareholder position, and the financial data of its Korean subsidiary will continue to be presented in conjunction with Renault.

Then in September, there was news that Geely and an oil group were in talks to take a stake in Renault's internal combustion engine division. Upon completion of the deal, the stake held by Renault, Geely and the oil group will be changed to 40:40:20. However, no one commented on the news at the time.

According to the latest announcement, once Saudi Aramco intends to obtain a minority stake in the proposed joint venture in the form of cash investment, it means that Geely and Renault each hold 50% of the joint venture will be diluted. Geely Automobile said in the announcement that the details of the equity structure of the joint venture company will be further discussed and determined by all parties.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat