Chinese carmaker Geely announced on February 1 it had acquired Manganese Bronze Holdings (MBH), manufacturer of the iconic London Black Cab, for 11.04 million British pounds ($17.44 million).

The deal will safeguard production of one of the most distinctive vehicles in the UK. PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed administrators of the business in October 2012.

The acquisition was carried out through Geely UK Ltd., a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

It also includes MBH's 48 percent stake in the joint venture manufacturing company in Shanghai set up by Geely and MBH in 2009 and MBH's stock of unsold vehicles.

Geely's priority will be to re-establish the manufacture, sale and servicing of new and current vehicles on broadly the same basis as existed before the business went into administration.