Li Auto's Chip Unit MHX Raises $243M, External Investors Take Minority Stake
LI is trading near its 52-week low of $10.66 (7.2% above the low).
Summary
Li Auto's chip and domain-controller subsidiary MHX Technology raised RMB1.625B ($242.8M) in equity financing, with Li Auto's wholly-owned subsidiary contributing RMB1B and outside investors including Hangzhou Jingtao, Lanchi Ventures, Huaye Tiancheng and MiraclePlus putting in RMB625M. Hangzhou Jingtao also holds a subscription right for up to RMB500M more by December 31, 2026. Li Auto keeps control and continues consolidating MHX, with the company, investors and incentive-plan entities expected to hold roughly 74.01%, 6.58% and 19.41% respectively. The deal brings external capital and validation to Li Auto's in-house chip effort without adding debt to the parent, and the retained majority stake means no deconsolidation hit. It follows a rough stretch for the core business — September deliveries fell 15.6% month-over-month to 31,817 and H1 gross margin halved to 9.5% — so a funded, separately capitalized chip arm is a modest bright spot rather than a fix for the auto margin problem.
At the time of this announcement, LI was trading at $11.43 on NASDAQ in the Energy & Transportation sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $11.6B. The 52-week trading range was $10.66 to $23.15. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Seeking Alpha.