Volvo Cars and its owner, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, have postponed plans to float shares of the succesful Swedish automaker, blaming trade tensions and a downturn in automotive stocks.
Volvo said plans for a listing in Stockholm had been delayed indefinitely. “We have come to the conclusion that the timing is not optimal for an IPO right now,” Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said.
Volvo and its Chinese parent had been discussing an initial public offering to value the automaker at between USD16 billion to USD30 billion. The company said on Monday a listing was still possible in the future.
Volvo is less exposed than its German premium rivals to U.S.-China tariffs, however, and has said it will juggle production of its XC60 SUV to reduce their impact. Geely, which paid Ford Motor USD1.8 billion for Volvo in 2010, also has stakes in Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, truck-maker AB Volvo and UK sports-car maker Lotus.
