Toyota Motor Corp. will take control of Daihatsu Motor Co. by increasing its 34.5 percent stake to 51.2 percent, making Daihatsu its subsidiary, top executives of the two automakers jointly announced Friday.
Toyota, the country's largest automaker, will purchase 71.45 million stocks of Daihatsu at 519 yen per share through takeover bids between Aug. 31 and Sept. 21. An estimated 37.1 billion yen is needed for the purchase, they said.
"We agreed that it is best for both of us to launch a more comprehensive strategy than we had previously done. For that purpose, Toyota decided Friday to obtain Daihatsu's shares with its consent," Fujio Cho, Toyota's executive vice president, told a press conference.
Toyota will buy the shares from Daihatsu's major shareholders, including financial institutions, they said. "We believe that the market for small cars will grow in the future. Daihatsu has strength in the field of small cars. We will benefit by having their development ability and by incorporating their high-quality cars in our product lineup," Cho said.
Although the two firms have had business ties since 1967, they will further strengthen cooperation in fields such as development, production and sales, they said.