MAN Chief Sees Scania Purchase as ‘Merger of Equals’

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he proposed acquisition of Swedish truck maker Scania AB by Germany MAN AG’s of would be more like a “merger of equals” than a takeover, MAN Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson said in an interview published in the Wall Street Journal Tuesday.

In an interview a day before the European Union is due to issue a regulatory ruling on the pending merger’s antitrust status, Samuelsson said he has “no intention of being a conqueror” and that many top positions in a combined company would go to Scania executives.

He said MAN has no plans to increase its bid of 475 kronor (about $68.60) a share and that it will not extend its self-imposed Jan. 31 deadline to complete the deal, the paper reported.

Volkswagen AG, the biggest shareholder in both Scania and MAN, has said it would support a takeover only if other Scania shareholders, including Sweden’s Wallenberg family, also supported it, the Journal said.

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