Daimler Truck rolls into stock market after Mercedes split

Daimler Truck launched on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Friday after the heavy-goods operation was spun off from its holding group, soon to be renamed as Mercedes-Benz.

The new group is targeting an entry into into the DAX, when the 40-member blue-chip index is next updated in the first quarter of 2022.

Daimler Truck was trading at 28 euros on Friday morning, shortly after the open of the stock exchange, valuing the new company at 23 billion euros ($26 billion).

The stock market entry was the "starting line" said Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum in a statement, adding the new group would use its independence to target "more success in the future".

Its former home Daimler will be be renamed Mercedes-Benz after its famous luxury car brand in February next year.

The breakup of the group and the new moniker were approved in October by shareholders, who will be issued with one share in Daimler Truck for every two they hold in Mercedes.

The reorganisation was carried out with an eye to taking on the different technological challenges by the two companies as the auto sector moves away from combustion engines.

While battery technology is essential to the future of passenger cars, "hydrogen will play an important role in the truck department", said Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius, who will stay on at Mercedes.

In total, 65 percent of shares in the new entity will be passed on to Daimler shareholders, with the remaining 35 percent held by the company itself.

The former group will continue to be represented on the supervisory board of Daimler Truck, though the day-to-day operation of the two companies will largely be separate.

Daimler Truck, which employs around 100,000 for the production of lorries, busses and specialised vehicles, is targeting a "two-digit" profit margin on sales by 2025.

In 2021, the new group expects a figure in the region of six to eight percent, as a shortage of semiconductors, an essential component, has raised prices for the industry.