Toyota over the past several years has been making equity swaps in rival automakers, including Daihatsu, Mazda and Subaru just to name a few.
The latest to join the list is Suzuki which together with Toyota announced an equity swap on Wednesday.
Toyota said it will purchase a 4.94-percent stake in Suzuki at a cost of $907 million and Suzuki said it in turn will purchase about $450 million worth of Toyota stock. The deal is still pending regulatory approval.
The deal foreshadows increased cooperation between the two automakers including in areas as diverse as joint product development, procurement and investment in electrification and self-driving technologies. In particular, Toyota is looking to leverage Suzuki's strength in compact cars while Suzuki in return will seek Toyota's electrification know-how.
The two automakers in 2017 already reached an agreement to share vehicle platforms and powertrains. Suzuki is also an investor in Monet, a mobility company established by Toyota and SoftBank.
The Volkswagen Group in 2009 took an almost 20-percent stake in Suzuki in an attempt to leverage the automaker's strength in compact cars as well as its presence in the Indian market. However, the partnership turned sour and VW in 2015 was forced to sell its stake.
