- Billionaire Li Shufu controlled satellite-to-automobile group Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd (OTC:GELYY), purchased a majority stake in Chinese smartphone maker Meizu Technology Co, the Caixin Global reports.
- Geely's Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology Co division bought a 79% stake in Meizu from Meizu's founder and a unit of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA).
- The financial terms of the transaction remain undisclosed.
- Adding a smartphone maker comes as cars graduate from mere forms of transport into electric, internet-connected, and autonomous vehicles, Bloomberg reports.
- Xingji Shidai, with Li as its principal investor, forayed into the mobile devices sector in September 2021, citing close connection in technologies within intelligent vehicle cockpits and smartphone software technologies.
- Multiple leading Chinese tech companies forayed into the autonomous and electric car space, with Xiaomi Corp (OTC: XIACY) planning four EVs and commercializing automobiles. Baidu, Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) and Geely invested $700 million into their EV joint venture Jidu.
- Alibaba invested in Meizu to tap the lucrative smartphone arena. However, Meizu met aggressive competition from Xiaomi, Huawei Technologies Co, and Oppo.
- Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 3.74% at $102.20 premarket on the last check Tuesday.
