Daimler AG will be selling its stake of approximately 4% in Tesla, thus terminating the share-price hedge that was initiated in 2013. Besides this, the collaboration between Daimler and Tesla is still going strong, as the development work for Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive was done in cooperation with Tesla.
Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG confirmed that Tesla remains a partner, despite selling its 4% stake, and that the partnership between Daimler AG and Tesla Motors Inc. will be continued. “Together we launched the B-Class Electric Drive successfully in the US this summer and in November the B-Class Electric Drive will be launched in Europe as well.
On the other hand, a member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG said that the development of the investment in Tesla is satisfying, but certainly not necessary for a partnership and, for this reason, Daimler AG has decided to divest their shares. In this way, Tesla will be able to broaden its investor base.
The sale of Daimler’s stake in Tesla will result in a cash inflow of around $780 million, which will be used to strengthen its operational business.
Daimler AG is the car manufacturer with the biggest portfolio of electric vehicles in the industry, such as: smart electric drive, Mercedes-Benz A-Class E-Cell, B-Class Electric Drive, B-Class F-Cell, SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive, Vito E-CELL, Mercedes-Benz Citaro and many others. Vehicles’ hybridization is also another objective from Daimler’s powertrain strategy.
In May 2009, Daimler bought a 9.1% interest in Tesla, which has been listed on the stock exchange ever since the end of June 2010. After has been listed on the stock exchange and a capital increase of Tesla, Daimler’s stake in the american company has been reduced to almost 4%, but this outcome didn’t affect the strategic cooperation and joint development projects of the two companies.
