Volkswagen Boosts Stake in German Truck Maker MAN

Volkswagen AG has raised its stake in German truck maker MAN SE, as it seeking to forge a deeper truck alliance between the two companies and Sweden’s Scania AB, Bloomberg reported.

VW boosted its MAN holdings to 30.47%, pushing it over the 30% threshold requiring it under German law to make a mandatory bid for entire company.

Such a move could make a combined company with MAN and Scania Europe’s largest truck maker. Germany-based Daimler AG, which makes Freightliner brand trucks in North America, is currently the No. 1 truck maker.

Volkswagen offered 95 euros per share, lower than the May 6 closing price of 96.52 euros, Bloomberg said.

VW is pushing MAN and Scania to deepen their cooperation to increase synergies in procurement, development and production, estimating the savings at 1 billion euros annually, Bloomberg reported.

Scania welcomed Volkswagen’s move to help the planned merger between Scania and MAN move forward, Bloomberg said.