RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: NPR's business news starts with troubles at German automaker Daimler.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: The maker of Mercedes Benz and other luxury cars is struggling with this recession and plunging auto sales. To shore up its balance sheet, Daimler has struck a major deal with a Middle Eastern investment fund. Aabar Investments from Abu Dhabi has agreed to buy a stake worth more than nine percent of the German automaker. This investment of more than $2 billion will make the Abu Dhabi fund Daimler's biggest single shareholder. Daimler's stock prices plunged over the last years, making the shares a bargain for the fund. As the Chairman of Aabar Investments told the Wall Street Journal, the best time to invest is when people panic.
The maker of Mercedes Benz and other luxury cars is struggling with the recession and plunging auto sales. To shore up its balance sheet, Daimler has struck a major deal with a Middle Eastern investment fund. Aabar Investments of Abu Dhabi agreed to buy a stake worth more than 9 percent of the German automaker, making it Daimler's biggest single shareholder.