Daimler Divests Last of Its Mitsubishi Shares

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aimlerChrysler sold the last of its shares in the Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Friday, the New York Times reported.

DaimlerChrysler did not disclose the price of the shares, a 12.4% stake in Mitsubishi that it sold to Goldman Sachs Group, but it said the sale would increase its income by $588 million, the Times reported.

With the move, DaimlerChrysler freed itself from an automotive venture that had been a financial drain since it took a one-third stake in Mitsubishi in March 2000, the paper said.

DaimlerChrysler initially paid $2.1 billion for the stake, in a move that came two years after the announcement of the trans-Atlantic merger of Daimler-Benz of Germany and Chrysler, the third-biggest American car company.

The move was the brainchild of Juergen Schrempp, who is stepping down at the end of the year as DaimlerChrysler's chief executive, two years before his contract is to expire. (Click here for previous coverage.)

Daimler is the parent of Freightliner LLC, which makes Class 8 trucks in the United States under the Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star brands.