MAN Purchases 14.3% Stake in Scania
ermany’s MAN AG purchased 14.3% of rival Swedish truck maker Scania’s voting rights at a cost of $1.76 billion in a bid to gain leverage in its ongoing effort to create an alliance between itself, Scania and Volkswagen AG, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
MAN purchased the shares at a 6.9% premium – 475 Swedish kroner apiece, or about $64.27 – over its initial valuation of Scania in September’s $12 billion hostile takeover bid, Bloomberg reported.
Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive officer of MAN, told Bloomberg the company purchased the Scania shares to smooth the road to negotiations after its Swedish rival declined invitations last Friday to begin talks of an alliance.
Volkswagen maintains that any alliance between MAN and Scania should also include its own heavy-duty truck operations in Brazil, Bloomberg said.
An alliance between MAN, Scania and Volkswagen would create Europe's largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer, Bloomberg reported.
