AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)12/17 Report--

Daimler is seeking to acquire a stake in Beijing Mercedes-Benz, including a plan to increase its 49 per cent stake in Beijing Mercedes-Benz to 75 per cent, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Daimler's plan has met some opposition within BAIC because it wants to maintain control of its lucrative business, according to people familiar with the matter. Beijing Mercedes-Benz Motor Co., Ltd. benefited from strong sales of Mercedes-Benz cars and helped BAIC fund the expansion of other businesses.

Some media asked BAIC's public relations department for confirmation on the news. BAIC's public relations department said there was "no official news", but Daimler did not comment.

This is not the first time Daimler has been reported to be interested in increasing its stake in Beijing Mercedes-Benz. On December 4, 2018, there were media reports that Daimler intended to increase its stake in Beijing Mercedes-Benz, its joint venture in China, to at least 65% from 49% now. The two sides did not respond to the news.

It is understood that Beijing Mercedes-Benz Automobile Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between BAIC Group and Daimler Group in China. BAIC holds 51% of Beijing Mercedes-Benz's equity structure, while Daimler holds another 49% of Beijing Mercedes-Benz.

Beijing Mercedes-Benz began producing and selling domestic cars in 2006 and sold about 485000 vehicles in 2018, accounting for more than 70 per cent of Mercedes-Benz sales in China.

China is currently the largest sales market for Mercedes-Benz, with sales of 57901 vehicles in November, up 11 per cent from a year earlier, and cumulative sales in the first 11 months to 640933, up 6.3 per cent from a year earlier, according to data.

According to official statistics, BAIC achieved operating income of 87.764 billion yuan in the first half of this year, up 14.12% from the same period last year, while net profit was 2.09 billion yuan, down 25.89% from the same period last year. Among them, Beijing Mercedes-Benz's total revenue was 77.807 billion yuan, an increase of 9.7% over the same period last year, accounting for 88.7% of BAIC's revenue.

In the news that Daimler intends to increase its stake in Beijing Mercedes-Benz, BAIC has also been revealed that it will further acquire shares in Daimler through the deal. BAIC has launched a plan to increase its stake to 10 per cent from its original 5 per cent to win a seat on Daimler's board, a move that will overtake Geely's shares and become Daimler's largest shareholder.

In July 2019, BAIC officially announced that it had completed the acquisition of 5% of Daimler's shares, making it the third largest shareholder in Daimler, second only to major shareholder Geely Group 9.7% and Kuwait sovereign fund 6.8%.

BAIC and Daimler did not respond to the news, but some media asked Xu Heyi, chairman of BAIC, to confirm that "there is no such thing".

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat