(Bloomberg) -- Polestar, the electric-carmaker controlled by Volvo Car AB and its owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., is exploring options for going public as soon as this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company is working with an adviser as it weighs alternatives including a U.S. or Hong Kong initial public offering, or a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, the people said. The EV maker could be valued at more than $10 billion in any transaction in which it goes public, the people said.
Separately, Polestar is weighing a new funding round after raising $500 million last year, the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing and Polestar could still change its fundraising plans, the people said. Representatives for Geely and Polestar declined to comment, while a China-based representative for Volvo also declined to comment.
Gothenburg, Sweden-based Polestar, led by Chief Executive Officer Thomas Ingenlath, is best known as a fierce rival to Tesla Inc., currently the world's No. 1 manufacturer of electric vehicles.
Its second vehicle and first all-electric car, the Polestar 2, started production last March at Geely's plant in Luqiao, China. In September, the automaker said it would put another car, the Polestar Precept, into production. That vehicle's interiors will be made out of recycled PET bottles and cork vinyl as well as reclaimed fishing nets.
Volvo and Geely are backed by Chinese billionaire Li Shufu, who has a net worth of about $16.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He's also Daimler AG's largest shareholder and has built a global automotive empire over the past two decades, securing stakes in European legacy brands such as Lotus and in Malaysian auto company Proton.
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