TOKYO - Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp said it would raise up to $1.1 billion by selling new and existing shares and invest most of the funds to develop hybrid and other low-emission cars.Mazda also halved its net loss forecast for the year to March, citing a stronger euro and cost cuts.
Mazda, which posted a third straight quarterly loss in April-June as the economic slump hit car sales worldwide, said it would raise up to 95.9 billion yen ($1.1 billion) by selling new shares and treasury stock.
The offering, which follows an announcement late last month by Japanese broker Nomura Holdings that it would aim to raise up to $5.6 billion in a share sale, underscores a race by companies to tap resurgent equity markets for funds.
The news could trigger selling of Mazda’s stock over the near term as the offering could boost the total number of shares outstanding by up to 26 percent, said Yoshihiko Tabei, an analyst at Kazaka Securities.
“But in the midterm it will be positive for Mazda’s growth,” Tabei said. “I don’t think Mazda is doing this public offering to bolster its finances. It is for strategical purposes, aiming to invest in eco-friendly technologies.”
The pressure to offer hybrid models has grown in Japan as consumers flock to gasoline-electric vehicles, which receive the biggest tax breaks under a government initiative to drive sales of cleaner vehicles.
Mazda said it would issue 315.2 million new shares and sell 96.8 million treasury shares.
The carmaker said it now expects to post a group net loss of 26 billion yen in the year to March 2010. It had previously forecast a loss of 50 billion yen.
