Geely to acquire controlling stakes in Lotus

Geely, a China-based automaker and the owner company of the Volvo brand and the London Taxi company, will be acquiring a controlling stake in Lotus. This will be a part of a deal between Geely and Lotus' owning company - Proton, a Malaysian carmaker. Proton and Lotus are currently part of the DRB-Hicom group, which has been struggling due to rising operating losses from the last few years.

Geely will be acquiring 49.9% stake in Proton and 51% stake in Lotus. As a result, Geely will essentially be taking over the Lotus brand, which has been famous as a historic British sports car manufacturer. Through this acquisition, Geely will get access to Lotus' expertise in composite materials and lightweight technology. This might help the China-based carmaker to develop products under its umbrella that benefit from Lotus' experience in these fields. Geely is also looking forward to developing and introducing new products & technologies under the Lotus brand.

Lotus recorded sales of just 1,584 units last year. The company's operating losses were pegged at £27.6 million during the year ending March 31, 2016. In addition to its small portfolio of cars, Lotus also has an engineering division through which the company sells sports car related technology to other automotive manufacturers.

Source: BBC