An Abu Dhabi state investment fund has agreed to take a 9.1-percent stake in Germany’s Daimler, the manufacturer of Mercedes Benz cars and the world’s biggest truck maker, the companies said yesterday.
The fund, Aabar Investments, is to invest ¤1.95bn ($2.65bn) buying new shares issued by Daimler, a joint statement said, which will make it the single biggest shareholder in the group. “We are delighted to welcome Aabar as a new major shareholder that is supportive of our corporate strategy,” Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche said in the statement.
The two companies plan to collaborate developing electric vehicles in a bid to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and also said they would set up an auto industry training centre for young people in Abu Dhabi.
Daimler swung into the red in the fourth quarter, hit by the fall in the market for cars and by write-offs linked to its remaining stake in loss-making US carmaker Chrysler.
Daimler, which sold off most of its stake in Chrysler in 2007, is struggling with falling demand for its luxury vehicles and a shrinking market for trucks.
