By Sarah Sloat
FRANKFURT--China's BAIC Motor Co. Ltd. (1958.HK) plans to take a
35% stake in Daimler AG's (DAI.XE) Chinese leasing subsidiary,
Mercedes-Benz Leasing Co., both companies said Sunday.
BAIC will buy the stake via a MBLC capital increase. The other
65% will remain with Daimler.
BAIC Motor is the passenger car unit of Beijing Automotive
Group, or BAIC Group. BAIC Group and Daimler have been partners in
China since 2003, and together operate Beijing Benz Automotive Co.,
which produces Mercedes cars. Daimler also holds a stake in BAIC
Motor.
Extending financial services is one way Daimler aims to grow in
the Chinese market, it said.
"In 2014, we financed or leased more than twice as many vehicles
in China than we did in the previous year," Daimler Chief Financial
Officer Bodo Uebber said, adding that "there are tremendous
opportunities with regard to automotive-related financial services
in the future."
MBLC was set up in 2012. The companies said the transaction,
which requires approval from Chinese authorities, is expected to be
completed by the end of the second or the beginning of the third
quarter of 2015.
Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires