Daimler to Sell Half Its EADS Stake

Daimler AG, which owns 15% of Airbus maker European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., plans to sell half that holding on Thursday and divest its remaining shares next summer.

CFO Bodo Uebber says Daimler plans to invest the proceeds in its automotive business, including the development of new technology.

Daimler's 61.1 million EADS shares would fetch nearly €1.7 billion at Wednesday's closing price of €27.23 on the Paris Bourse. The carmaker plans to sell the stock between that price and €26.25, according to Reuters, which cites unidentified sources.

Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley are handling the sale. Germany's state-owned KfW bank and other investors have already agreed to buy at least 4.7 million of those shares.

Daimler helped form EADS in 2000 by merging its Dasa aerospace unit with French and Spanish aerospace companies.

The sale is part of a restructuring of EADS's ownership that involved delicate negotiations to maintain the existing ownership balance between France and Germany. Daimler will no longer be Germany's proxy at EADS.