BERLIN—Mercedes Benz said on Thursday it plans to buy back up to 4 billion euros ($4.28 billion) of its shares over two years from March 2023.

Shareholders Beijing Automotive Group and Geely had agreed to divest their shares on a pro-rata basis concurrently with the share buyback to keep their stakes in the company below 10 percent, the statement added.

The two Chinese companies are the largest single shareholders in Mercedes-Benz, together holding nearly 20 percent of the carmaker.

Under German financial regulation, shareholdings beyond a 10 percent threshold must be disclosed to regulators for scrutiny.

Mercedes-Benz Group beat analysts’ estimate with an annual earnings of 20.5 billion euros ($21.80 billion) and a stronger revenue, the car maker said on Friday, but warned of lower earnings this year due to economic uncertainty.

($1 = 0.9354 euros)