General Motors said Monday it will slash its stake in Japan's Suzuki Motor to just three percent but continue with a strategic alliance as the ailing US auto giant struggles to return to profit.
Suzuki for its part said it planned to spend about 230 billion yen (1.97 billion dollars) to buy back on the market as much as possible of the 17.4 percent stake being offloaded by loss-making GM.
GM expects to raise cash of about two billion dollars from the share sale and record a pre-tax gain of 550-750 million dollars, the Detroit-based group said in a statement on its website.
Suzuki said the two companies would continue to cooperate in the development of technologies such as fuel cells and the move would not affect its fiscal year to March 2006 profit forecast.
"Suzuki and GM will continue their business tie-up but we decided to change our financial relationship," Suzuki chairman Osamu Suzuki told reporters.
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