Japanese trading house Toyota Tsusho Corp. said Tuesday it will take a 25 percent stake in LG-HY BCM Co., a maker of materials for auto batteries in South Korea.

The trading house, in which Toyota Motor Corp. holds a 22 percent stake, declined to provide the purchase price for the stake in the joint venture set up by South Korea's LG Chem Ltd. and China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.

The Chinese company's stake will fall to 24 percent while LG Chem will continue to hold 51 percent, a Toyota Tsusho spokesperson said.

LG-HY BCM makes cathode active materials for use in lithium-ion batteries and operates a plant in South Korea with an annual production capacity of 66,000 tons, according to Toyota Tsusho.

==Kyodo

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