MAN Should Drop Scania Bid, Volkswagen Says

olkswagen AG said Germany’s MAN should drop its bid for rival truck maker Scania, of which Volkswagen owns a 34% voting stake, and consider other options, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Volkswagen spokeswoman Christine Ritz told Bloomberg that Bernd Pischetsrieder, chief executive officer of Volkswagen, would prefer a deal that combined MAN and Scania with Volkswagen’s heavy truck operations in Brazil.

Volkswagen rejected last week MAN’s initial takeover bid of $12.3 billion, saying that the offer was not inline with the automaker’s industrial interest in Scania, Bloomberg said.

Meanwhile, Anton Weinmann, chairman of MAN, said last Tuesday he will continue his efforts to purchase Scania in spite of negative response on the part of Volkswagen and Investor. (Click here for previous coverage.)