(Reuters) -Stellantis NV is nearing a deal to acquire a roughly 20% stake in Chinese electric vehicle company Zhejiang Leapmotor , Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Leapmotor and Stellantis are also discussing setting up a joint venture as part of the transaction, the report said, adding that a partnership could allow Stellantis to manufacture and sell some Leapmotor cars outside China.
The partnership would also give it access to the EV maker’s parts and certain technologies, according to the report.
The companies are hammering out the final details of a transaction and an announcement could be made in the coming days, Bloomberg said.
Stellantis when being reached out for a comment on the report said it is “studying scenarios to seize business opportunities linked to the dynamics of Chinese manufacturers in the context of the electrification of the global automobile market,” without elaborating further, while Leapmotor did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shweta Agarwal)
