German car-parts maker and engineering firm, Robert Bosch GmBH, yesterday said that it had recently sold its entire 5.4-per cent stake in Japan's Denso for around €1.1 billion ($1.40 billion) in order to raise money for capital expenditure and future acquisitions.

Bosch, which held the stake since the mid-1950s as a financial investment, sold around 46 million shares in Denso, the world's second-biggest car parts maker after Bosch.

Stuttgart-based Bosch said that the sale in no way affects the long-standing and successful relationship between Bosch and Denso. ''For nearly 60 years now, the two companies have been cooperating in the automotive supply industry. The basis of this successful cooperation has always been mutual trust and the common desire for excellent technical solutions,'' said Dr Stefan Asenkerschbaumer, CFO of Bosch.

He added that the two companies will continue to work together within the framework of existing partnerships and alliances.

Bosch and Denso have been in partnership since 1953, and signed a first license agreement for the manufacture of electric automotive equipment such as generators and starters.

In 1956, they expanded their license agreement to include the manufacture of spark plugs.

Bosch and Denso are also shareholders in the Associated Fuel Pump Systems Corp (AFCO) and Advanced Driver Information Technology Corp (ADIT) joint ventures. AFCO has produced fuel pumps for vehicles in South Carolina since 1989, while ADIT was set up in 2003 to develop platforms for vehicle infotainment systems in Kariya, Japan and Hildesheim, Germany.

Set up in 1886 by Robert Bosch, the Bosch Group is a leading global supplier in the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology.

The group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and more than 350 subsidiaries and regional companies in over 60 countries. Bosch has spent €3.8 billion on research and development in 2010, and applied for over 3,800 patents worldwide.

Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation holds 92 per cent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH, while the majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust.

The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust and the remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH. The group generated sales of more than €51 billion in 2011.

Kariya, Aichi Prefecture-based Denso, part of the Toyota Group of companies, is a leading supplier of advanced automotive technology, systems and components for all the world's major automakers.

It operates in 35 countries and regions with approximately 126,000 employees and had sales of $38.4 billion in 2012.