Geely is plucking assets left and right. First, it was Volvo. Then it turned its attention to Lynk & Co, the London Taxi Company, and, most recently, Lotus. Now it looks like the Chinese auto conglomerate is looking to dip its hands into one of the world’s most prestigious auto brands. A report from China Central Television revealed that Geely is looking to acquire a small take in Daimler AG, the parent company of a certain German automaker that calls itself Mercedes-Benz.

According to the CCTV report, Geely is looking to acquire a three percent to five percent stake in the German auto conglomerate. Such a deal would cost Geely almost €4 billion, which converts to around $4.73 billion. If the deal pushes through, Geely would become the third largest shareholder of Daimler, trailing only the company’s institutional shareholders (70.7%) and the Kuwait Investment Authority (6.8%). Private shareholders account for 19.4% of the company’s stock while the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance holds 3.1% percent of stocks.

Geely’s attempt to buy into Daimler AG isn’t a breaking development in the auto industry. Just last month, Reuters reported that the Chinese conglomerate offered to buy a five-percent stake in its German counterpart based on the issue of new shares at a discount. Daimler rejected the offer but did tell Geely that it was welcome to buy shares, provided that the latter do so in the open market with no discounts attached.

The two sides are likely still in negotiations on a price, but the important thing here is Geely’s incredible aggressiveness in expanding its footprint in the auto industry. It’s already done incredible things with Volvo since taking ownership of the Swedish automaker in 2010. It’s making great strides with Lynk & Co. Its recent purchase of Lotus signals its intent to revive the fabled sports car brand. Now it’s pushing to get a piece of one of the biggest and most established automakers in the world.

You can make a case that Geely is turning into one of the big winners in the auto industry this year. Makes you wonder, too, what the future has to offer for the surging Chinese auto brand.

References

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