Volkswagen has taken control of Swedish truck-maker Scania. That paves the way for the creation of the European market leader through a merger with MAN, of which VW owns nearly a third. Last year Scania rejected a hostile takeover bid from MAN.
Leif Ostling, President and CEO of Scania, said: "I welcome for the second time Volkswagen - now as a majority shareholder. We have a grand future together, we can share technology in an even more open way than we have done in the past and it's also very good for Scania to have this stability of ownership."
Volkswagen paid nearly 2.9 billion euros to buy out Sweden's Wallenburg family and now controls more than two thirds of the voting shares.
A merger of MAN and Scania would create a new top European truck manufacturer with almost a quarter of the market. Last year Volvo build 23% of the lorries sold in Europe and Daimler's Mercedes 22%. Iveco of Italy is the other major player with 15% of the market.
Volkswagen and Scania together can achieve greater economies of scale and VW's Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said they can work together in areas like electronics, purchasing of material and research. He also said Scania will remain a separate brand run by the current management.
The deal will need to be approved by competition regulators.
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