German luxury carmaker Daimler and its French rival Renault are in talks about taking equity stakes in each other to forge a long-term cooperation, it was reported today.
Citing two unidentified people briefed on the talks, the Financial Times said the possible alliance would take the relationship beyond the ongoing talks about cooperation in the small cars business. It said the stakes would likely be below 10 per cent in each other.
The discussions have been long-running and are still ongoing, the newspaper quoted those people as saying.
Daimler is worth €37 billion on the stock market, while Renault is valued at €9.7 billion.
In December, Renault confirmed talks with Daimler and others about partnerships to cut costs in areas such as engines, transmission platforms, and access to new technologies.