Daimler to acquire Evonik's stake in battery cell venture Li-Tec
Daimler will acquire Evonik Industries' 50.1 percent stake in their Li-Tec joint venture, making it the sole owner of the lithium ion battery cell manufacturer.
The carmaker will also buy Evonik's 10 percent share in their Deutsche Accumotive battery partnership to take full control of that business, Daimler said today in a joint statement with the chemical producer.
Financial details weren't disclosed.
Evonik CEO Klaus Engel said in October that slack demand for electric vehicles, coupled with fast-growing supply, has put pressure on prices. A "three-digit-million" euro sum and a lot of extra risk would be needed to keep up with the industry's rapid development, prompting Germany-based Evonik to seek a buyer for its battery activities, Engel said.
"Evonik and Daimler have found a good solution," Thomas Hermann, head of corporate development at Evonik, said in the statement. "The agreement creates important opportunities for Germany as an industrial location in an international environment of intense competition."...MORE
