Daimler’s Biggest Investor Won’t Boost Stake for Now, CEO Says

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Aabar Investments PJSC, the Abu Dhabi fund that is the biggest shareholder in Daimler AG, put plans to boost its stake in the German carmaker on hold after the shares surged, the company’s chief executive officer said.

“Currently we are not in the process of increasing the stake in Daimler,” Mohamed Badawy al-Husseiny said in an interview in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Daimler’s “share price has moved up, so the question becomes whether there is a big strategic value to increase the stake from 10 to 15 percent,” he said.

Aabar in March last year paid $2.7 billion for a 9.1 percent stake in Stuttgart-based Daimler, the world’s second- biggest luxury carmaker. The shares have surged 59 percent in the past year, while Aabar’s shares are up 29 percent. Aabar’s Chairman Khadem Abdulla al-Qubaisi said in November the government-controlled company may raise the stake to 15 percent.