DaimlerChrysler said on Tuesday talks to sell most of its New Venture Gear powertrain business to Magna International were a first step and that it aimed to dispose of the rest later, a Reuters report said.
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Canadian car parts maker Magna had said on Monday it was in talks with DaimlerChrysler about buying a controlling stake in New Venture Gear, which in 2002 had sales of about $US1.4 billion from its operations in Syracuse, New York, and Roitzsch in Germany, the news agency noted.
“We are in talks about selling a controlling interest and what we are discussing at the moment is a joint venture,” a DaimlerChrysler spokesman in Detroit told Reuters.
“Then at some point, maybe around 2007, we would look at the possibility of a next step,” reportedly added the spokesman, noting this would be in line with the company’s strategy of selling off its parts activities where it made sense.
Reuters said that, last year, DaimlerChrysler became the full owner of New Venture Gear after fellow shareholder General Motors exited the business, though GM bought a facility in Muncie, Indiana.
