File photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

July 24 (NBD) -- Beijing Automotive Group Co. Ltd. ("BAIC Group") announced on Tuesday that it has purchased a 5 percent stake in Daimler, the German Mercedes-Benz maker.

According to the statement of BAIC Group, the stake contains a 2.48 percent of direct shareholdings and another 2.52 percent that gives it voting rights.

BAIC Group was reported in May this year to have started buying Daimler stocks on the open market. A 5 percent stake in Daimler would cost approximately 2.88 billion U.S. dollars, based on the German carmaker's closing market value on Tuesday (July 23 GMT) of around 57.65 billion U.S. dollars.

The deal will make the Beijing-based automaker the third largest independent shareholder of Daimler after Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding and Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, the Kuwait Investment Authority.

Becoming a shareholder of Daimler will on the one hand allow BAIC Group to share global profits of the German carmaker, and on the other hand will facilitate the Chinese automaker's access to technologies and managerial experience of Daimler through a deeper cooperation, an industry analyst remarked.

BAIC Group and Daimler have become partners since 2003. In 2005, they established Beijing Benz, a joint venture that manufactures Mercedes-Benz automobiles in China, and in 2013 Daimler acquired an equity interest in BAIC Motor, a listed subsidiary of BAIC Group.

Industry insiders held that following BAIC Group's buying into Daimler, the latter would possibly increase its shareholding in Beijing Benz.

Rumor has it that Daimler has been seeking to increase its stake in Beijing Benz to 65 percent from the current 49 percent since China pledged to remove the restriction on foreign ownership of passenger vehicle manufacturers and allow foreign investors to set up more than two joint ventures by 2022.

A higher shareholding in Beijing Benz will enable Daimler to consolidate revenues and profits of the Beijing-based joint venture into its financial statements, which can to some extent improve the Mercedes-Benz maker's financial performance, some industry insiders noted.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn