MAN Maintaining Interest in Scania Purchase

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ANOVER, Germany — The chairman of German heavy-duty truck maker MAN said he’s continuing his efforts to purchase Swedish rival Scania, despite negative responses from two of the takeover target's largest shareholders.

nton Weinmann, chairman of MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Group, told a press conference Tuesday his company “would really welcome” a successful conclusion of the $12 billion bid that was announced last week. (Click here for previous coverage.)

“We see major synergies” in combining the two companies, he said, which would yield Europe’s largest truck maker and would place it third in the world, behind DaimlerChrysler and Volvo AB.

cania’s board rejected the offer on Sunday, while Volkswagen — which owns 34% of Scania’s stock — turned thumbs down on the bid, but without closing the door on a potential deal.

Accepting the offer that MAN made today for Scania would not be consistent with this industrial interest” Volkswagen has in Scania, a company spokesman said Monday.

cania’s second-largest stockholder, a Swedish investment company called Investor, also rejected the proposed deal. A company spokesman said Monday the MAN offer did not reflect “the fair value and potential of Scania.”

eanwhile, Weinmann, speaking at the opening of the biennial International Automobile Association’s Commercial Vehicles conference here, said he had “no further comment” on the proposed takeover at this time.