Toyota Group to sell US$ 4.7 billion sale of Denso stake: Report

Toyota Motor and two affiliates plan to sell about 10 percent of components maker Denso by year-end, a stake likely worth aboutUS US$ 4.7 billion, news agencies have reported.

The sale of shares in Denso comes as the world's top selling automaker looks to ramp up production of fully electric vehicles, which is a capital-intensive endeavour.

Toyota, Toyota Industries and Aisin will sell Denso shares worth a total of about 700 billion yen (US$ 4.7 billion) at current market prices, news agencies reported.

Toyota Motor's portion of the sale will represent short of half of the roughly 10 percent, with Toyota Industries and Aisin making up the remainder, the sources added. Denso, a key Toyota supplier, is the world's second-largest maker of automotive components.

Denso also plans to buy back some of its own shares in the open market to offset the potential hit to its share price, according to the sources, who declined to be named because the matter remains confidential.

In a statement, Denso said it was considering a share sale, a buyback and other capital measures, but that nothing had yet been decided. A Toyota spokesperson told news agencies that the company was not in a position to comment on Denso. An Aisin spokesperson declined to comment.

Toyota Motor, which held some 24.2 percent of Denso as of the end of September, is expected to remain as the top shareholder.

Buyers of the shares are expected to largely be domestic investors, and the price has yet to be determined, the sources said.

Toyota in July said it would sell a stake worth about 250 billion yen in telecoms company KDDI Corp after unveiling a sweeping plan to improve the driving range and cut costs of battery electric vehicles.