Suzuki Motor is buying back the 19.9% stake held by top shareholder Volkswagen for up to US$3.9bn, after an international arbitration court last month ordered the German automaker to sell its holding. The Japanese automaker said it would repurchase on Thursday as many as 122.77m shares at Wednesday's closing price of JPY3,842.50 per share for up to JPY471.74bn ($3.9bn) via the Tokyo Stock Exchange's off-hours trading system before the market opens.
According to a Reuters report, Suzuki did not say what it planned to do with the stock. US hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, whose Third Point LLC holds a stake in Suzuki, has urged the Japanese company to cancel the shares that it repurchases. Loeb, after the arbitration court ruling on 30 August, also said Suzuki should focus on improving value for existing shareholders.
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Suzuki and Volkswagen agreed to tie up in December 2009, pledging to cooperate on technology and on expanding in emerging economies but the alliance soon faltered. Suzuki filed for arbitration in November 2011, Reuters noted.
