Volvo Cars said it’s considering an initial public offering months after calling off earlier plans to merge with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., the Chinese manufacturer owned by its parent.
The board of the Swedish carmaker has decided to evaluate a possible listing on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange later this year, according to a statement. In March that owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. was considering an IPO that could value the business at around $20 billion.
Volvo’s more than a decade under Chinese control has been a success story. While pandemic disruptions snapped a six-year streak of record sales, demand came roaring back and fueled record deliveries and profit in the second half. Geely has been a supportive owner, helping fund construction of the company’s first-ever U.S. car plant, and the investment it will take to go fully electric by the end of the decade.
Geely Holding would remain a major shareholder of Volvo, which also announced that it has extended the contract of Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson to the end of next year. He’s led Volvo since 2012, two years after Geely acquired the company from Ford Motor Co. for just $1.8 billion.
