Geely’s Smartphone Arm Mulls over Acquiring Meizu

BEIJING, January 21 (TMTPOST) — Geely Group (HKG: 0175)’s smartphone arm is negotiating with Chinese smartphone brand Meizu on an acquisition, Chinese tech media 36Kr reported, citing several sources familiar with the matter.

The deal is still undergoing the due diligence process, sources told 36Kr. Details of the deal have not been disclosed, according to the sources.

Geely has declined to comment on the news report. “We will not comment on speculations in the market. Xingji Shidai’s high-end smartphone business is proceeding in accordance with its plan. We look forward to forging partnerships with an open mind and inclusivity,” Geely said.

Meizu is not aware of relevant information, the company stated.

Geely Group, a Chinese automaker giant, has been eyeing the smartphone business for a long time. The company established Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology Co Ltd in September 2021, a smartphone venture that will be focusing on the high-end market.

“Smartphones are the medium of digital innovation. It allows users to share innovations quickly and transfers some safe and reliable innovations to vehicle applications,” Geely Group’s chairman Eric Li said. “This can achieve the integration of vehicles and smartphones.”

Geely Group holds a 32% majority stake in Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology, according to open information on enterprise record platform Tianyancha. Li holds 6.1% in the company. The smartphone venture was kickstarted with an investment of 10 billion yuan and will launch its smartphone products in 2023, Reuters reported.

Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology has been raising funding. The company completed strategic financing backed by Geely Group, Ningbo Boma and Wuhan Economic Investment in December last year. The amount of the financing was not disclosed. Earlier on January 13, the company’s registered capital was increased by 10% to 715 million yuan.

Besides raising capital, Geely’s smartphone arm has also been recruiting smartphone industry veterans for its R&D and management teams. The smartphone company’s CEO Wang Yong is an industry veteran who had served at industry giants such as ZTE and Asus. Wang worked as the vice president at ZTE, overseeing major products such as ZTE’s TD-SCDMA phones, etc. Wang then left ZTE for Asus and served as the vice general manager of Asus China.

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