Mitsubishi Corp. Will Double Stake in Mitsubishi Motors

Trading house Mitsubishi Corp. is expected to announce tomorrow it is doubling its stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to about 20%, according to The Nikkei.

The Tokyo-based newspaper says Mitsubishi Corp., which currently owns 9% of the carmaker, plans to spend 120 billion yen ($1.1 billion) to acquire new shares through a tender offer. Hiking its stake above 10% will enable the trading house to gain greater benefits greater than dividend payments alone.

Two other Mitsubishi group members, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, also are expected to use the tender offer to hike their current stakes of 8% and 3%, respectively.

MMC is controlled by Nissan Motor Co., which acquired a 34% stake in the company in October 2016. The investment saved MMC from financial collapse after it admitted to falsifying fuel economy ratings for 20 of its models.​ ​​​​​​