FRANKFURT: Japan’s Nissan Motor said on Tuesday it was selling its roughly 1.5% stake in German carmaker Daimler through an accelerated bookbuild offer, following a similar move by alliance partner Renault in March.

The French carmaker, with Nissan, had exchanged stakes with Daimler a decade ago to strengthen their industrial partnerships.

Cooperation is continuing, Daimler and Renault said earlier this year, although people close the matter had said larger initial plans never materialised and the cross-shareholdings were no longer deemed necessary.

Investors were guided to expect pricing near Tuesday’s closing price of 72.41 euros a share, a bookrunner organising the deal said.

Daimler shares were down 4.6% in after-hours trading in Frankfurt.

At that price, Nissan would reap just under 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) from the deal.

Bank of America and Societe Generale are organising the block trade.

Reuters