The Supervisory Board and Board of Management of Daimler AG announced today that the company has decided to apply for discontinuation of the listing of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). After the delisting has become effective, Daimler will also apply to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for deregistration of all its securities registered with the SEC and termination of its reporting obligations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Daimler informed the NYSE by letter of its intention to discontinue the listing of its shares as well as the 8.50% notes due January 18, 2031 of Daimler Finance North America LLC and the related Daimler guarantee.
The main reason noted for discontinuing the NYSE listing and registration with the SEC is a significant change in the behavior of international investors, who now primarily trade in Daimler shares in Germany and through electronic trading platforms. Daimler’s trading volumes in the United States has been consistently low and, over a twelve-month period, amounted to an average of well below 5% of the worldwide trading volume, according to the company.
Another objective is to reduce the complexity of financial reporting as well as administrative expenses and fees. The delisting is also the final step in Daimler’s efforts to reduce its number of stock-exchange listings.
Bodo Uebber, CFO of Daimler AG, said: “Daimler continues to place great importance on having an international shareholder base. The trading center for our shares, however, clearly is Frankfurt – and that is also the case for our international investors. Furthermore, this step will enhance our overall efficiency. The American sales market and our activities in North America remain as important as ever for Daimler.“
‘‘I do not think the delisting will affect DTNA [Daimler Trucks North America] at all,“ Mark Lampert, sr. vp sales for DTNA, told Fleet Owner. ‘‘People who want to can still buy stock through Frankfurt. I can’t think of a single customer this will affect negatively.“
Daimler AG will apply for delisting and deregistration in the near future. Independently of the delisting and deregistration, Daimler will maintain a high degree of transparency in its financial reporting and will continue to fulfill the requirements of international investors. “We remain in direct, close and open dialogue with our American investors, and our investor relations team and I will continue to be present on a regular basis in the U.S.,” Uebber noted.
Daimler has a strong presence in North America and will continue to work to further strengthen its market share and business operations there, the company noted. In 2009, North America accounted for 25% of the Daimler Group’s worldwide revenue and almost every tenth Daimler employee worked in North America.
