Racy little convertible

21 September 2009 By John Foley Follow @johnsfoley

The US bank is buying a $250m convertible bond issued by the Chinese carmaker. That won’t be enough for Geely to realise its dream of buying rival Volvo. But Goldman s celebrity endorsement will give Geely a boost in talks with governments and other vendors of auto assets.

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Goldman Sachs Capital Partners was in talks to invest $250m in Geely Automotive, the Chinese carmaker, through a placing of convertible bonds in Geely's Hong Kong listed vehicle, according to a person familiar with the situation. The terms of the convertible had yet to be finalised as of September 21.

Geely, which makes the Eagle and Maple brands in China as well as a new model based on London's black taxicab, said in September that its unlisted parent may bid for Ford's Volvo brand. The company also expressed an interest in a stake in the Opel brand being sold by General Motors, Reuters reported.

Geely's brands made up 3% of total auto sales in China in 2009 to date, according to JD Power Strategic Advisory Group. China's car market is growing rapidly, with unit sales up 60% in July, year on year. Demand for Geely's brands fell slightly in July compared with June, but beat the previous July's sales by 55%.

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