Following the sale of most of its stake in Suzuki earlier this month, and all of its 20% stake in Fuji Heavy Industries last year, GM is now discussing the possible sale of its stake in Isuzu.
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GM currently holds around 7.9% if the Japanese truck maker.
The sales are part of the company’s efforts to cope with heavy losses.
Isuzu has agreed to the possible sale and said in a statement that it recognises that “GM is at a crucial point in turning its North American business to profit, and is continuously reviewing its portfolio.”
In a statement GM said that “Isuzu is a core alliance partner with which GM has many long-term mutually beneficial projects and the level of activity between the two companies continues to increase. GM would not expect any sale of its Isuzu shares to have any effect on this important strategic alliance.”
GM currently accounts for 18% of Isuzu’s revenues, according to Reuters. GM and Isuzu have two diesel engine joint ventures in the US and Poland that could be affected by the sale.
The company added that “there can be no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions and it would, therefore, be inappropriate to comment further.”
Isuzu shares in Japan rose on the news, according to Reuters, which quoted a financial analyst as saying that there is optimism that Isuzu’s business is likely to improve after ties with GM are cut.
According to Reuters, Japanese trading houses Mitsubishi and Itochu are amongst the companies that have been approached to buy the stake. They currently own 0.2% and 0.7% of Isuzu respectively.
Mizuho Corporate Bank, which holds a 2.8% stake, is also reported to be considering buying GM’s stake.
