Geely to sell $1.32 billion of Volvo truck shares

Shares of truckmaker Volvo AB dropped as much as 5.9% in Stockholm on Friday on news that China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group had sold the entirety of its Class B shares, worth about 14.1 billion Swedish kronor ($1.3 billion).

In a statement Thursday, Geely said the divestment is “in accordance with its long-term strategy” and that it will remain Volvo’s second-largest investor with 88.5 million A shares. 

“Geely Holding’s strategic adjustment and inclusion of AB Volvo in its automotive manufacturing and investment portfolio is part of the group’s risk management and diversified investment strategy,” the company said.

Geely sold the 49.5 million shares at 285.9 kronor a share, a 2.2% discount from its closing price, through BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe and Barclays. In Hong Kong, Geely’s listed arm fell more than 3% on Friday.  

Volvo reported first-quarter operating profit that beat analysts’ expectations on Wednesday, as the truckmaker offset waning orders by charging higher prices. The company has been reducing production as demand returns to more typical levels following a post-pandemic recovery period.

Geely pared its stake in Volvo in January and also sold some of its holding in Volvo Car AB in November. The holding company behind one of China’s most prominent carmakers early this year had to bail out Polestar, the struggling electric-vehicle manufacturer it started along with Volvo Car.