Toyota, affilites to offload some 177.5 billion yen in Aisin shares
TOYOTA Motor and two affiliates will sell 33.9 million shares in group supplier Aisin, the companies said on Thursday (Jun 27), a deal worth 177.5 billion yen (S$1.5 billion) as of the latest stock price.
The other sellers are Denso and Toyota Industries, Aisin said, adding the sale price has yet to be determined.
Toyota, the world’s top-selling automaker, said in a separate statement it will reduce its stake in Aisin to 20 per cent from 24.8 per cent of issued shares by selling about 13 million shares.
The latest sale follows a similar move in November when Toyota, Aisin and Toyota Industries decided to sell shares in Denso, an action that sparked investor hopes the automaker would shed more of its cross-shareholdings.
Toyota has been looking to cash in on stakes in affiliates as it steps up development and production of battery-powered vehicles. It intends to review its capital ties with other group companies on a one-by-one basis, it said in its statement.
As part of the sale, Denso and Toyota Industries will sell just under 13 million shares each through a secondary offering and Toyota about 7.9 million, Aisin said in a statement.
Toyota plans to sell another five million shares through the offering’s overallotment.
Aisin said in separate statements it would buy back some 17 million shares, a move that could help offset the market impact of the sale, and conduct a 3-1 stock split later this year.
Japanese companies traditionally took stakes in affiliates and business partners – a practice known as cross-shareholding – but have been under pressure to unwind those holdings to improve their use of capital. REUTERS
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
