Chinese billionaire Li Shufu buys biggest single stake in Daimler

Chinese billionaire Li Shufu has bought a near 10-percent stake in Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler, making him the German group's largest single shareholder, a stock market filing showed Friday.

Li, who chairs auto giant Geely Automobile Holdings, bought a 9.69-percent stake in the carmaker, worth around 7.2 billion euros ($8.9 billion), according to the filing. The size of the investment leapfrogs a 6.8-percent stake in the Stuttgart-based group held by Kuwait and Renault-Nissan's 3.1-percent holding.

"Daimler is pleased to announced that with Li Shufu it could win another long-term orientated shareholder," a spokesman for the Stuttgart-based group told AFP.

Li had been "convinced by Daimler's innovation strength, strategy and future potential," he added.

German business media have for weeks reported Li and Geely's interest in Daimler. But Friday is the first time Li's stake has crossed the threshold of 3 percent of stock, requiring a public notification. Geely itself is no stranger to the European car business, having bought Sweden's Volvo in 2010.