Mercedes-Benz Sells Its Shares In Nissan

Shares in Nissan Motor fell after Mercedes-Benz announced plans to sell its 3.8 percent stake in the Japanese automaker. Tokyo-listed Nissan shares fell as much as 6.7 percent before paring some losses to trade 6 percent lower.

Mercedes’ pension fund will sell its roughly $346 million stake in Nissan, a company spokesman reportedly said.

He added that Nissan’s share is not strategically significant, while the sale of the remaining 3.8 per cent is planned as part of a portfolio cleanup. Nissan’s share is 2.7 percent of the company’s total share, and Daimler Truck almost 93 percent.

Mercedes-Benz is Nissan’s second-largest shareholder after Renault, with a 35.7 percent stake.

The move further weighs on the Japanese automaker’s shares, which have been under pressure from U.S. tariffs, falling sales, and a shift to electric vehicles amid fierce global competition, particularly from Chinese rivals.

Late last year, the company began short-term talks with Honda about a possible partnership that would form the world’s third-largest automaker, but talks collapsed in February.

In May, the company announced plans to cut 11,000 jobs and close seven factories. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa said in June that the company’s short-term focus was to fix the troubled automaker as it undergoes a major restructuring.

In July, US auto tariffs were cut to 15 percent from a previously announced 25 percent, somewhat of a relief for Japanese automakers, including Nissan. The original 25 percent tariff was halved before a basic “most favored nation” tariff of 2.5 percent was added, bringing the total to 15 percent.

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