Recently, some Chinese media reported that a mobile phone company Hubei Xing Ji Shi Dai Technology (Star Times) under Geely Group is in contact with the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer “Meizu” to discuss the acquisition. A number of people close to the transaction said: “The transaction is still in progress, and due diligence is being done.” In terms of the acquisition price, since the transaction has not yet closed, the price is not clear. The media asked both parties for confirmation on this matter. Geely Holdings officially responded that it would not comment on market rumors. Currently, the high-end mobile phone research and development business in the Star Times is progressing in an orderly manner, and it hopes to create an open and integrated ecological partnership; Meizu responded: Thank you for your interest in Meizu.
It is a fact that Geely wants to engage in mobile phone business. Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Group, once said that he will invest 10 billion yuan in the field of mobile phones. In September 2021, Geely Group established Hubei Xing Ji Shi Dai Technology Co., Ltd.(Star Times) to target the field of high-end mobile phones. The CEO of Star Times, Wang Yong, used to be the vice president of ZTE. After leaving ZTE, Wang Yong also joined ASUS as the deputy general manager of China.
For Meizu, being acquired may also be an unavoidable fate. In the fierce competition in the Chinese mobile phone market, Meizu has been stuck in difficulties in recent years, and its annual sales have dropped to about 1 million units.
There have also been many market rumors that Geely will seek OEM for the mobile phone business. Geely has not responded publicly to this.
Geely announced its entry into the smart high-end mobile phone segment last year. In September 2021, Hubei Xing Ji Shi Dai Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Star Times”), a subsidiary of Geely, announced its official entry into the mobile phone field. Its project headquarters is located in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, targeting high-end smartphones, integrating global technologies and resources, and serving the global market.
Tianyancha APP shows that the business scope of Star Times includes the second type of value-added telecommunications business, technology import and export, Internet game services, etc. The legal representative is Wang Yong, the major shareholder is Geely Group, holding 32.3% of the shares, and the actual controller is the director of Geely Holding Group Chief Li Shufu.
Geely said that the mobile phone business is positioned as a high-end smartphone, which will give full play to the long-term accumulated experience of Geely and Volvo’s ecosystem in the fields of design, R&D, high-end intelligent manufacturing, industrial chain management, etc. At the same time, they can empower each other in terms of automotive intelligence, software capability building, and technological transformation to achieve super synergy.
