DaimlerChrysler AG has agreed to pay $297 million for AB Volvo's 3.3 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to expand its alliance with the Japanese firm into commercial vehicles, MMC announced in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The deal will increase DaimlerChrysler's stake in MMC to 37.3 percent -- exceeding the 34 percent owned by other companies in the Mitsubishi group -- and will enable the German-American auto giant to expand its commercial vehicle operations in Asia. Its tieup with MMC has so far been restricted to cars.
Juergen E. Schrempp, president and chief executive officer of DaimlerChrysler said in a statement released after the automaker's shareholders' meeting in Germany, "This marks a major step toward the completion of our Asian commercial vehicle strategy."