Japan's Norinchukin Bank, a central bank for agricultural cooperatives, is considering joining a bid led by US investment fund Cerberus to acquire General Motors Corp's finance unit, a report said yesterday.
Norinchukin Bank would put up US$1 billion if it joins the US$13 billion bid to buy General Motors Acceptance Corp, the financing arm of the struggling US auto giant, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said without naming sources.
The Japanese bank is believed to be seeking future capital gains, the economic daily said.
Other Japanese institutional investors are also believed to be interested in participating in the consortium, which also includes Citigroup, it said.
Norinchukin declined to comment on the report.
GM said when it announced a massive re-organization last October in the face of mounting losses that it was exploring a possible sale of a controlling stake in the finance arm.
Separately, Suzuki Motor Corp said yesterday it has bought back nearly 17 percent of its own shares from GM for ?226.8 billion (US$1.96 billion) under an agreement to reduce the US automaker's stake and help in its restructuring.
The buyback plan, announced on Monday, will inject GM with badly needed cash as the Detroit-based automaker embarks on a massive turnaround effort after losing US$8.6 billion last year.
As of yesterday morning, Suzuki had bought back 91.09 million shares, or 16.8 percent of its outstanding issue, at ?2,490 apiece, the manufacturer, based in Hamamastsu, said in a statement.
Under Monday's agreement, the Japanese maker of small cars agreed to buy 92.36 million shares, or 17 percent of its total, for ?229.98 billion.
A Suzuki spokesman, who requested anonymity, said the rest of the shares were bought by unknown investors on the market.
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