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

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