Geely set to control London's black cabs
By Neil Maidment |
March 18, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S Geely Group is set to increase its grip on the lossmaking British manufacturer of London black cabs Manganese Bronze, taking a controlling stake and moving more production to China.
Geely, China's largest privately owned car maker, is also in talks to buy Ford's Swedish unit Volvo - another of Europe's famous brands.
Britain's Manganese Bronze said yesterday it was considering a placing to Geely at 70 pence per share to give the group a controlling stake, and announced plans to source bodies and chassis for its TX4 cab from Shanghai rather than Coventry.
Shares in Manganese Bronze were untraded on the London Stock Exchange yesterday morning. They closed at 85.50 pence on Tuesday, compared with a high of more than 950 pence achieved in May 2007.
"This is a bit of a turning point for us," Manganese Bronze CEO John Russell said after the group posted a full year 2009 pretax loss of 7.3 million pounds (US$10.9 million).
"Seeing the immediate benefits of our relationship with Geely coming through in the TX4, we are now at a point where we can think about building a closer relationship with our Chinese partner."
Manganese Bronze has already sought to dramatically reduce costs by producing parts in China in a joint venture with Geely.
The company said shifting bodies and chassis to Shanghai would result in about 60 redundancies in Coventry but the TX4 cab will continue to be assembled in England.
Geely, China's largest privately owned car maker, is also in talks to buy Ford's Swedish unit Volvo - another of Europe's famous brands.
Britain's Manganese Bronze said yesterday it was considering a placing to Geely at 70 pence per share to give the group a controlling stake, and announced plans to source bodies and chassis for its TX4 cab from Shanghai rather than Coventry.
Shares in Manganese Bronze were untraded on the London Stock Exchange yesterday morning. They closed at 85.50 pence on Tuesday, compared with a high of more than 950 pence achieved in May 2007.
"This is a bit of a turning point for us," Manganese Bronze CEO John Russell said after the group posted a full year 2009 pretax loss of 7.3 million pounds (US$10.9 million).
"Seeing the immediate benefits of our relationship with Geely coming through in the TX4, we are now at a point where we can think about building a closer relationship with our Chinese partner."
Manganese Bronze has already sought to dramatically reduce costs by producing parts in China in a joint venture with Geely.
The company said shifting bodies and chassis to Shanghai would result in about 60 redundancies in Coventry but the TX4 cab will continue to be assembled in England.
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