Panasonic has disposed of its entire stake in electric carmaker Tesla - a holding estimated to have a sale value of $3.6 billion - last fiscal year, a company representative said Friday, according to Reuters.
Panasonic's share price rose 4.53% in the morning session after Nikkei reported the stock sale Friday morning.
The Japan company bought around 1.4 million shares of Tesla at $21.15 apiece, the report said. Tesla shares sold for $667 March 31, after dropping to as low as $563 a share in mid-March.
Panasonic is seeking to minimize its reliance on Tesla and raise cash to invest in growth. Its battery business is dominated by Elon Musk's Tesla, but the two companies have had a shaky relationship at times with executives disputing publicly.
The sale gives Panasonic billions of dollars to bankroll new investments, like its $7 billion acquisition of U.S. software company Blue Yonder, Nikkei Asia said.
"The effect of cryptocurrency assets may have pushed Tesla's share price above its intrinsic value, making it a good time to sell," Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute, said in quotes by Reuters.
Panasonic said its business relationship with Tesla remains, and intends to continue supplying Musk's company with battery cells.
Panasonic said it is also working with Tesla on a next-generation battery Musk detailed last year.
"Our relationship with Tesla as a business partner will not change going forward," a Panasonic executive who Nikkei did not identify, said.
