BERLIN (AP) -- Automaker Daimler says it has reached an agreement with Germany's government to sell a 7.5 percent stake in Airbus parent company EADS to a state-owned bank.
The company confirmed Thursday the sale to KfW development bank is to take effect early next year. The price of the transaction was not disclosed.
Daimler has sought to sell its stake in the European plane and arms manufacturer EADS for months as it doesn't consider it any longer to be part of its core business.
It says the German government's move was intended "to safeguard the balance" of EADS' German and French ownership.
Daimler AG says it currently holds a 15 percent equity stake and 22.5 percent of the EADS voting rights, and it is set to "retain 15 percent of voting rights and industrial leadership" after the sale to KfW.
