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Daimler eyes Hyundai tie
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March 30, 2000: 10:24 a.m. ET
Automaker in negotiations with Korean market leader, may raise 5% stake
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LONDON (CNNfn) - DaimlerChrysler said Thursday it is in co-operation talks with South Korea's Hyundai, although Euope's second-largest automaker didn't provide details of the negotiations.
The announcement continues the flurry of activity in the commercial vehicle sector and comes just days after DaimlerChrysler acquired control of Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, paying $2 billion for a 34 percent stake. Mitsubishi has a 5 percent stake in Hyundai Motors.
DaimlerChrysler chief Juergen Schrempp said Monday his firm was looking for an Asian truck partner, and a link with Hyundai comes at a time when all of Korea's major auto firms are being pursued by the global auto elite. A Daimler spokesman confirmed to CNNfn Thursday that the company would consider raising its equity stake in Hyundai.
"There are no concrete plans...the talks are on cooperation, there is nothing definite," according to the Daimler spokesman, who added, "If there's something interesting we'll go deeper."
Hyundai Motor is the biggest auto firm in Korea, and beside a 69 percent share of the domestic auto market last year it builds a range of heavy and light trucks. It is being sold as part of the restructuring of the Hyundai Group, the third-largest of the chaebol conglomerates that dominate the Korean economy.
Hyundai rival Samsung Motor is being courted by Renault (PRNO) and Daewoo has been linked to General Motors (GM: Research, Estimates), Ford (F: Research, Estimates) and Italy's Fiat.
DaimlerChrysler (FDCX) shares were unchanged at  68.00 in afternoon trading in Frankfurt. 
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