Kuwait is selling a quarter of its Mercedes-Benz shares: how the country on the Persian Gulf justified this move.
The Kuwaiti state is reducing its stake in the carmaker Mercedes-Benz. The sale of about 20 million shares is part of an investment diversification strategy, the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) said in a statement on Tuesday. After selling a quarter of its stake, KIA will still hold around 53 million shares. The company currently holds 6.8 percent of the Mercedes share capital, making it the third largest single shareholder.
Mercedes-Benz share price quadrupled
At the targeted price of 69.27 euros per Mercedes share, KIA would achieve proceeds of around 1.4 billion euros. The closing price in the main Xetra transaction was EUR 71.89 on Tuesday, 0.6 percent higher than the previous day. On the Tradegate trading platform, however, only 69.99 euros were recently paid. In the last three years, the Mercedes-Benz share price has almost quadrupled.