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In a move that sent Nissan Motor shares tumbling, the pension trust of German automaker Mercedes-Benz has sold its entire 3.8% stake in the Japanese company for 47.83 billion yen ($324.65 million), a source with direct knowledge of the transaction revealed on Tuesday. Nissan shares closed more than 6% lower following Mercedes-Benz's Monday announcement, the stock's biggest single-day decline since early July.
The slide in Nissan shares since the news highlights investor scepticism over the company's turnaround prospects as it battles tariffs and falling sales in its key markets, the United States and China. The automaker booked a $535 million loss for the three months ended June.
The share sale comes after Nissan agreed earlier this year with its long-time partner and top shareholder Renault to amend their partnership that would allow lowering the required shareholding to 10% from 15%.
Mercedes-Benz sold its Nissan shares at 341.3 yen apiece, a 5.98% discount to Nissan's Monday close of 363 yen, according to the source. The shares were offered at a price range of 337.5 yen to 341 yen, a term sheet showed.
Demand outstripped the number of shares placed for sale, the source said on condition of anonymity as the information was confidential. The top ten investors in the deal were allocated about 70% of the shares sold, the source added.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the German automaker had said the Nissan stake, which was transferred to its pension assets in 2016, was not of strategic importance and described the sale as cleaning out its portfolio.
Renault owns 35.7% of Nissan, with 17.05% held directly and the rest through a trust. The French automaker booked an $11 billion writedown on its stake in Nissan last month.
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa, who took over in April, has unveiled a turnaround plan to restore profitability, which includes measures such as cutting global production capacity to 2.5 million vehicles from 3.5 million and manufacturing sites to 10 from 17 by fiscal 2027.
Late last month, Espinosa said Nissan was still in the early stages of recovery but that it was making progress on cost cuts.
