Mercedes-Benz on Thursday stated it accomplished the acquisition of a 3 per cent stake, value 1.34 billion yuan (US$191 million), in bike maker-turned-autonomous driving programs developer Chongqing Qianli Know-how, three months after the deal was first introduced.
The transaction concerned Mercedes-Benz Digital Know-how, the German carmaker’s tech unit, and Shanghai-listed Lifan Holdings, which transferred 135.6 million shares of Qianli at 9.87 yuan per share.
Earlier than the transaction, Lifan Holdings – as soon as China’s high bike maker – held greater than 5 per cent of Qianli’s shares. After closing the deal, Mercedes-Benz grew to become Qianli’s fifth largest stakeholder.
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In accordance with the phrases of the deal, the switch of the shares “won’t result in modifications within the controlling shareholders and precise controllers of the corporate, and won’t have an effect on the supply for acquisition”.
Mercedes-Benz stated it was dedicated to not decreasing its shareholding in Qianli for not less than 12 months.
The acquisition underscored efforts by Mercedes-Benz to deepen its ties and strategic collaborations on the earth’s largest automotive market.
Chongqing Qianli Know-how headquarters. Photograph: Handout alt=Chongqing Qianli Know-how headquarters. Photograph: Handout>
Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and Volvo final month grew to become the first international carmakers authorised to deploy synthetic intelligence chatbots of their autos in China, which marked a possible acceleration of Beijing’s vetting course of for AI companies.
The Our on-line world Administration of China‘s Beijing department registered the “Mercedes-Benz digital assistant” as a generative AI service at about the identical time when the regulator’s Shanghai department authorised Tesla Shanghai’s xBot service and Volvo’s native chatbot Xiao Wo.
Previously few months, Mercedes-Benz has additionally invested in a variety of China’s rising AI firms.
Based in 1992 as a bike producer, Lifan Holdings later broadened its operations to incorporate car parts. Its traders included a non-public fairness fund supported by Chinese language carmaker Geely and the municipal authorities of Chongqing.
Lifan Holdings chairman Yin Qi co-founded and beforehand served as CEO at Chinese language AI agency Megvii, which is backed by Alibaba Group Holding. Hangzhou-based Alibaba owns the South China Morning Put up.
