China's Geely has agreed to take over part of a Ford Motor factory in Spain, where it plans to build vehicles on an idle assembly line, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to announce the agreement at Ford's Almussafes plant near Valencia later Thursday, the report said.
The facility, which also produces the Ford Kuga crossover, has been operating at less than a quarter of its capacity of 450,000 vehicles per year, according to Bloomberg.
Geely did not immediately respond to' request for a comment.
Shares of Geely Automobile Holdings (HKG:0175), part of Geely Holding Group, rose 3% in Thursday trading.
(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)