Jones Day and Musat & Asociatii have advised the Geely Holding Group and Geely Automobile Holdings on their binding 50/50 joint venture agreement with the Renault Group to launch a new powertrain technology company. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Renault on the JV and the carve-out of its internal combustion and hybrid engines business.
According to Musat & Asociatii, the new powertrain technology company "aims to become the global leader in developing, manufacturing, and supplying best-in-class hybrid powertrains and highly efficient internal combustion engine powertrains."
The Renault Group businesses targeted for the carve-out operate mainly in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Portugal, Spain, Romania, and Turkey, Freshfields reported.
Geely is a Chinese multinational automotive company headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, with over 80,000 employees. It produces and sells vehicles under its own branding such as Geely Auto, Geometry, Maple, and Zeekr, and under foreign-located subsidiaries, such as Volvo Cars, Polestar, Lynk & Co, Proton, and Lotus. The company also owns stakes in the Volvo Group, Daimler AG, and Aston Martin.
According to Musat & Asociatii, the joint venture will be jointly led by the Renault Group and Geely, with equal board members to formulate and execute strategies and two operational centers, in Madrid for the Renault Group and Hangzhou for Geely. "An executive team will be based in the headquarters of the new company, which is intended to be established in the UK, to consolidate operations, build on synergies, and define future plans."
At launch, the new company is expected to supply multiple industrial customers including the Renault Group, Geely Auto, Volvo Cars, Proton, Nissan, the Mitsubishi Motors Company, and PUNCH Torino. "In the future, the joint venture will be capable of providing end-to-end solutions in powertrain technologies to third-party car brands and will welcome partners to further strengthen the value chain," Musat & Asociatii reported.
The Musat & Asociatii team was led by Senior Partner Gheorghe Musat, Managing Partner Paul Buta, and Deputy Managing Partner Razvan Stoicescu, and included Deputy Managing Partners Iulian Popescu and Mihai Popa, Partners Monia Dobrescu and Andrei Ormenean, Managing Associates Alina Man, Madalina Trifan, Dragos Lungu, Ana Maria Abrudan, Manuela Lupeanu, and Julieta Sfecla, Senior Associates Robert Urmosi and Gabriel Oprea, and Associate Camelia Stanciu.
The Freshfields team was led by Paris-based Partner Guillemette Burgala and Counsel Aileen Legre and included more than 60 Freshfields lawyers from five different offices, as well as other law firms across eight additional jurisdictions.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that Jones Day acted as global counsel for Geely. The firm's team included lawyers from Shanghai, Beijing, London, Madrid, Sao Paulo, and Brussels. The article was updated to reflect this.
