German car maker and parent company of Mercedes-Benz, Daimler has recently terminated the share-price hedge it initiated in 2013 and has sold its stake in Tesla of approximately 4%. However, the cooperation between the partners on the automotive projects is unaffected and development work for the Mercedes-Benz B Class Electric Drive is completed, and the partnership with Tesla remains in place. The sale of Daimler’s stake in Tesla will result in a cash inflow of around $780 million, which will be used to strengthen Daimler’s operational business.
Daimler, which has the industry’s biggest portfolio of electric vehicles, initially acquired a 9.1% interest in Tesla in May 2009. 40% of that investment was transferred to Aabar Investments PJSC in the context of a joint strategic project in July 2009. Tesla has been listed on the stock exchange since the end of June 2010. As a result of capital increases at Tesla, Daimler’s stake in the company decreased to around 4%. And since the German giants sold their stake in the electric car company, there have been rumours that their interests may lie in a certain Italian motorcycle company. A new report indicates Daimler wants to purchase a stake in Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Augusta, According to different sources in Milan, Daimler though its AMG division will acquire a 25 percent stake in the bike company for approximately Euros 30 million. A deal between the two parties could be signed as early as next year, but so far there has been no comment from any side as of yet. We will just have to wait and see.