DaimlerChrysler to sell its Hyundai Motor stake

‘‘Both companies have agreed that successful cooperation on aper-project basis is possible without a shareholding relationship,’’ the car-makers said in a joint statement.

Hyundai Motor’s chief executive said DaimlerChrysler intends to sell the 10.5 percent stake, valued at $993 million based on current market prices, to several unnamed international financial investors.

But in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Daimler’s head of commercial vehicles said that the US-German auto giant wasn’t in a hurry to sell its stake. ‘‘That doesn’t necessarily have to take place this year,’’ Eckhard Cordes said, adding that the group had not decided whether to sell to ‘‘some investors or place the shares widely on the market’’.

The company’s main priority is to maximize returns on the holding, which was bought in two tranches in 2000 and 2001 for $ 571.6 million in cash.

The long-flagged sale follows DaimlerChrysler’s decision in April to halt financial support to its ailing Japanese partner, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. It will retain its 37 per cent stake, but the holding will be diluted once Mitsubishi carries out a planned capital infusion. The collapse of Hyundai’s tie-up with Daimler is likely to push the South Korean car maker into looking for a new partner to achieve its goal of achieving a top-five industry ranking.

‘‘This is bad news for Hyundai and its share price as the break-up means increasing selling pressure and loss of a key strategic partner,’’ said Bak Sun-boe, fund manager at SEI Asset Korea. ‘‘It would be difficult for Hyundai to find a new strategic partner as global giants such as Ford and GM are seeking overseas expansion on their own.’’ Shares in Hyundai closed up 2.35 per cent at 45,650 won before the news was released. Daimler shares rose 0.9 per cent to 36.15 euros in midday Frankfurt trading, in line with similar gains for the Dow Jones Stoxx European autos index. —(Reuters)