Renault to sell stake in Daimler

[PARIS] Renault announced on Thursday the sale of its entire 1.54 per cent stake in Germany's Daimler after the French automaker booked a record loss in 2020 as the pandemic hit performance.

The stake was worth 1.2 billion euros (S$1.87 billion) on Thursday.

Renault said its industrial partnership with Daimler "remains unchanged and is not impacted by this financial transaction".

"The proceeds of this sale will allow the Renault Group to accelerate the financial deleveraging of its automotive activity," it said in a statement.

Automotive activity was in the red to the tune of 3.6 billion euros net at the end of 2020.

Renault said it planned to sell the shares "through a placement to qualified investors." "Cooperation continues," a spokesman for the German manufacturer also told AFP.

Daimler was "informed as much as possible of the transaction" which is "Renault's decision", he added.

Renault reported in February a net loss of 8.05 billion euros for last year, compared with a bottom-line profit of 19 million euros in 2019.

Japanese partner Nissan, in which Renault holds a 43-per cent stake, accounted for 4.9 billion euros of the loss.

Daimler meanwhile unveiled plans last month to spin off and float its truck division.

Once the separation is complete, the Daimler group will take the name of Mercedes-Benz after its top-selling luxury car.

AFP