Suzuki Motor Corp is buying back the 19.9 percent stake held by top shareholder Volkswagen AG for up to $3.9 billion, after an worldwide arbitration court last month ordered the German automaker to sell its holding. The stake buyback ends the partnership between the two companies that soured soon after it was formed in 2009.

On Thursday, Suzuki paid Y460.3 billion in total to buy its own shares, using an off-auction hours trading system, it said.

Volkswagen and Suzuki had initially planned to cooperate on small, fuel-efficient cars for emerging economies, providing the smaller Japanese automaker with access to technology and helping Volkswagen improve on its laggard position in the Indian market.

However, Suzuki later accused Volkswagen of withholding information it had earlier agreed to share.

In a statement on Friday, Suzuki said that it did not see a need to change its earnings forecasts for the business year ending in March 2016 in light of the share purchase. Analysts and hedge fund managers are now advising the Japanese automaker to give up any further attempts to engage in cooperation with other, larger carmakers.

Suzuki had filed for worldwide arbitration in November 2011, after Volkswagen refused to sell the shares in Suzuki it acquired in January 2010 for $1.90 billion.