STOCKHOLM: Swedish car brand Volvo announced plans Monday to go public and raise nearly $2.9 billion as it shifts to making electric vehicles, with Chinese owner Geely remaining its biggest shareholder.
The announcement marks another milestone for the automaker which had been struggling until Geely acquired it from US giant Ford for $1.8 billion in 2010.
Volvo's image and sales have dramatically improved since then, riding the wave of popularity of SUVs. The company plans to go all-electric by 2030.
The automaker said it intends to make an initial public offering of shares on the Stockholm Nasdaq exchange "to raise gross proceeds of approximately SEK 25 billion (2.5 billion euros) and a potential partial sale of shares by Volvo Cars' main shareholder."
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The IPO was "expected to consist of the issuance of new shares by Volvo Cars... and a potential partial sale of shares by Volvo Cars' main shareholder," the group said in a statement.
The first day of trading is expected to take place this year.
"Further announcements relating to the proposed IPO will be made in due course," the statement said.
Volvo Cars said its current Swedish institutional shareholders AMF and Folksam would remain as shareholders.
Geely Sweden -- a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Co Ltd. which acquired Volvo Cars in 2010 -- "intends to remain the company's largest shareholder.
"Volvo Cars will thereby continue to benefit from cooperation within the Geely ecosystem, providing valuable scale and market synergies," it said.
Volvo Cars describes itself as one of the world's fastest growing premium automotive companies in terms of both units sales and revenue.
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